The New Target: Naruto
by Tropicalna
Summary: What if Sasuke wasn’t the one Orochimaru was after, but Naruto? How would things be different?
1. A Change of Plans

The New Target: Naruto

**The New Target: Naruto!**

**What if Sasuke wasn't the one Orochimaru was after, but Naruto? How would things be different? **

**The story starts where Naruto meets up with Sasuke and Sakura after defeating that giant snake. However, there IS a short scene before all that, right at the start where they're going into the forest. **

**Anyways, enough chat from me, let's got on with the story.**

**Disclaimer**

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me. They belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Anyone who doesn't belong in Naruto belongs to me, unless said otherwise.**

**Key:**

"**Word" Talking**

'**Thought' Thinking**

* * *

Three Grass Ninja stepped inside the Forest of Death.

"Remember who our target is."

"Right."

"If any of you find him, come and get me immediately."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Naruto panted heavily, staring down at Sasuke. "I forgot the password."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Naruto, you must have come to show off by helping us, but don't get involved! Run!"

Naruto said nothing, only continued to watch.

"Don't you understand? He's way above our level!"

But Naruto wasn't paying attention to what Sasuke was saying. Instead, he was studying the grass ninja.

Said Grass Ninja looked at Naruto. "Look's like you defeated that big snake, Naruto-kun. Excellent…"

Naruto sucked in sharply. 'That guy looks like a snake…I see. So it must have been that guys doing. Hmm…'

The Grass Ninja looked intently at Naruto, almost as if eyeing a prize of some sort. 'Ha…Attacking the Uchiha boy was an excellent idea. It attracted the boy…All is going according to plan.'

Sasuke glared at Naruto, half angry, half desperate. 'There has never been a situation where things got better when he came. What should I do…?'

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Naruto shouted at the enemy ninja. "Looks like you were picking on the weak." Naruto pointed his finger at said ninja. "Now that I, the great Uzumaki Naruto, am here, I'm going to beat you to a pulp!"

"Crap!" Sasuke cursed under his breath. 'All three of us are going to get killed at this rate. What Should I do…?'

'Sasuke-kun…' Sakura watched with wide eyes.

The Grass Ninja and Naruto stared eachother down.

'Shit…This is the only way I know of.' Sasuke's sharingan faded. "Wait."

Everyone looked at Sasuke, waiting for him to do something.

"I'll give you the scroll. Please, take this and leave us in peace."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "What?" Sakura gasped, not quite believing her ears.

"Hey, Sasuke! What are you doing?" Naruto shouted at his comrade. "What are you trying to do by giving the enemy our scroll!?"

"You shut up!" Sasuke replied angrily. "What?"

The grass ninja smiled and rose into a standing position. "I see. You're smart. The only hope the prey has from a predator, is to hand over something else to save itself."

"Take it." Sasuke tossed the scroll to the ninja. Naruto gasped, and jumped forward.

The Grass Ninja held out his hand, waiting to catch the scroll. Naruto got there first.

Snatching the scroll from mid-air, Naruto landed next to Sasuke.

"You…! Don't butt in! Do you understand the situation you're in!?" Sasuke was cut of as Naruto hit him in the face.

"What?" Sakura was astounded at the actions of Naruto. She knew they hated eachother, but this was going to far…

The grass ninja smiled. He had always loved conflict in a team. And what was even better, was that now Naruto was all alone, on the same branch as he. 'Things are going even better than I thought…'

"Why you…Why did you do that?" Sasuke shouted at Naruto.

"I…forgot the password, so I can't make sure of this, but, You're a fake Sasuke, aren't you?"

"Naruto what…what are you saying?" Sakura took a step forward.

"You idiot! I AM the real one!"

"Liar. The idiot and coward I see in front of me right now can't be the Sasuke I know. I don't know how strong he is, but there is no guarantee that he'll let us go, even if we do hand over the scroll!" Naruto made a fist.

"You're the one who's scared, the one who doesn't understand the situation!"

The grass ninja, which had been ignored for al this time, finally unwound himself from the branch and stood up, chuckling. "Naruto-kun…You're correct. I just have to…kill all of you to take the scroll." And then he bit his thumb, making it bleed.

The grass ninja rolled up his sleeve, then dragged his still bleeding thumb along what seemed to be a tattoo.

Naruto reacted instantly. Taking out a kunai, he charged at the enemy, shouting angrily, "Don't mess with us!"

"Stop! Run, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted.

"Damn it!" Naruto leaped into the air, preparing to strike. 'I've lost faith in you, Sasuke!'

"Summoning Jutsu!" The grass ninja made several hand signs, and a ferocious wind started up.

"What?" Naruto was being suspended in mid-air by the wind, as it was so powerful.

Suddenly the grass ninja was standing on a large snake, even larger than the one that had swallowed Naruto up.

The snake leaned towards Naruto, almost as if it were going to eat him.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed.

The snake swung it's head downwards, barely missing Naruto.

Naruto landed on one of the lower branches, and watched, terrified, waiting for the snake that towered over him to move.

"How cute. What a cute prey." The grass ninja smiled. The snake lifted it's tail and swung at Naruto.

Naruto was fast, but not fast enough. The tailed caught him on the side and sent him crashing another tree.

"Naruto!" Sasuke tried to get to his fallen comrade, but the snake blocked his path, as well as Sakura's. They couldn't get close.

Naruto tried to stand, but fell. He tried again, but was forced back down by the injuries. His whole right side hurt from the blow. The grass ninja chuckled. "Such stamina."

"Naruto!" Sasuke leaped forward, only to be swatted back by the snake.

The grass ninja leaped down next to Naruto. By this time Naruto had managed to prop himself against the tree, but now he was cornered.

'This is the end…' he thought, closing his eyes.

"Oh Naruto-kun, I'm not going to kill you. Oh no, you're much top precious…" Naruto opened his eyes, but wished he hadn't.

The grass ninja's neck was all stretched out, just like a snake, and the head…was right next to his.

Naruto felt a searing pain in his neck, it was almost like he was being burned.

"AAAAAAGH!"

"NARUTO!" Sasuke screamed. He had seen it all, and yet, he couldn't do anything about it.

Sakura gasped as the scene of events unfolded in front of her. "No, leave him alone!"

"Ra-aaaagh!" Naruto thrashed about violently, while the grass ninja watched from a safe distance away.

Sasuke felt his blood boil. How dare this… this snake-bastard come and bother them!

He leaped onto the snake, and then onto the side where Naruto and the Grass Ninja was.

"I won't let you get away with this!" Sasuke shouted, starting to perform some hand signs.

The Grass Ninja frowned. "Nothing you can do will…oh!"

"_Katon, Ryuuka no Jutsu!_" A huge jet of flame enwrapped around the grass ninja.

"NOOOO!"

The snake disappeared, having been too close to the fire for comfort, and enabling Sakura to join them.

"Yes, he did it!" Sakura cheered, running over to them.

The fire died down revealing…the grass ninja, but something was different.

"Wha…How…?" Sasuke took a step back.

Part of the ninja's face was peeled, revealing an entirely different face underneath.

"Hahahaha…The Uchiha power is amazing, but not as amazing as the power that will soon be mine!" And he fled, just like that.

"No! Get back here you coward!" Sasuke shouted, but the ninja was already far away.

Sasuke was about to give chase, but Sakura stopped him. "Sasuke, he's already gone.We need to turn our attention to what matters most at the moment...Naruto."

They both glanced at Naruto, who was still thrashing some. He seemed to be in pain. "Naruto..." Sasuke whispered quietly under his breath.

* * *

_With Anko…_

The proctor panted heavily, staring at the grass ninja, or rather, Orochimaru.

Earlier that day they had found the corpses of three grass ninja…with their faces peeled off. IT was a disgusting sight, but she had seen it before.

"Why are you here?" Anko hissed through clenched teeth. "Are you here to assassinate the Third?"

Orchimaru chuckled. "No. I still do not have enough men to do that. Instead, I have given someone the cursed seal."

Orchimaru knelt down so he was at eye-level with Anko. "There is a boy I want…"

Anko looked up. "As usual, you do what you want…But that boy is going to die!"

Orochimaru chuckled. "Yes, there's only a ten percent chance that he'll survive, but he might be like you, and not die."

Despite the pain and danger she was in, Anko smiled. "You seem quite interested in this boy."

"Are you jealous? Are you still angry that I used you, then cast you off like trash? Unlike you, he seems like an excellent ninja. After all...he is the boy who contains the nine-tailed fox…"

Anko's eyes widened. 'Is he talking about…?'

"His body is beautiful, and he is capable of becoming my successor. If he survives, things should become interesting. Whatever you do, don't cancel this exam."

Orochimaru stood up and started to walk away. "Three from my village are under you're care. I'm going to enjoy this."

**Constructive Criticism and Compliments Welcome! Flames and Spams will be laughed at.**

**Tropi**


	2. Dosu, Zaku, and Kin! Lee to the Rescue!

**Yay! The next chapter has arrived! No, I'm serious. This is it, the second chapter. I know, you're probably all like 'Whoa, it's a miracle' or something like that. Anyways…**

**It's the next day, (I think) and it only brings more trouble to Team 7! Just what do those sound ninja plan on doing? Will they survive? And what could be causing Naruto so much pain that he attacks anyone near him, even in his sleep? Find out in this newest chapter! **

**All Characters in Naruto belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Any Character that does NO belong to Naruto belongs to me. **

**Key**

"**Word" Talking**

'**Thought' Thinking**

Lee leaped from branch to branch, scouting out for any nearby teams that might have a scroll. So far however, he hadfound none.

* * *

_Somewhere not to far away…_

Naruto thrashed violently about, but Sakura and Sasuke could do nothing to help him. Any time they tried, he would attack them. All they could do was watch and hope for the best.

"Naruto…what could be happening to make him act like this?" Sakura watched sadly as her friend continue to scream in pain.

"I'm not-! No! Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!!" Naruto screamed into the air. It was a surprise that no other shinobi team had found them.

He went limp for a moment, and you could see tears silently streaming down his face. "Please…stop…please…"

Sakura felt her heart nearly break in two. He sounded so sad.

"I wonder what he's dreaming about…" Sasuke muttered. "At least we managed to get him onto the ground." Sakura nodded.

* * *

_In Naurto's Dream…_(**A/N: You don't have to read this if you don't want to, but it might help you understand a little more in the story.) (P.S. This part might make you cry.**)

_The present Naruto watched a younger version of himself._

_The younger Naruto watched, eyes tear-filled as one by one, everyone turned their backs on him. Some paused to insult him._

"_You freak!"_

"_Leave us alone, you monster!"_

"_Go away!"_

_One even picked up a stone and threw it at him, hitting him on the cheek._

"_Wait!" Naruto cried, reaching out a hand, but none of them waited._

_Drip._

_Drip._

_Tears splashed onto the ground as Naruto cried. "Why won't you recognize me!?" he wailed._

_It was then he spotted Iruka. His face brightened immediately. "Iruka! Iruka-sensei!" But when his former sensei turned to look at him, it was not with the kind, gentle look he usually wore, but one of pure hatred. The young Naruto took a step back._

"_You monster fox you! You killed my parents!" Iruka raised a fist and hit the young Naruto, who reeled back from the blow. _

"_Iruka…"_

_But his sensei had already turned his back on him and was walking away, along with the others._

"_Iruka-sensei!" Naruto tried to run after him, but stumbled and fell._

_The present Naruto watched horrified. IT all seemed so…real…_

* * *

_In the Real World…_

Sasuke frowned. What seemed to be dark purple charka was emanating from Naruto, but he couldn't be sure, but he didn't have time to check anyways as there was a rustle in the trees.

Sakura and Sasuke looked up from their positions at looked curiously at the bush, poised in case of an attack.

There were a few moments of tension, and then a squirrel poppet out.

They relaxed, but then tensed up again. The squirrel had started running forward, but that's not what concerned them, not much anyways.

Sakura threw a kunai right in front of it, sending it running back into the forest.

"Phew…that was close." Sakura relaxed again, as did Sasuke.

"Do you think they saw that explosion tag we set on the squirrel?" Asked a sound ninja, who was still in hiding.

"No. I suspect that it was something else. Let's take a closer look." The one in the middle replied.

* * *

_Back with Lee…_

Lee paused on a branch, surveying the area. "Hmm…Ah!"

He spotted a squirrel thrashing violently on the ground, something burning on it's back.

He quickly leaped down and scooped the squirrel up, then tore off the burning thing and extinguished it. "An explosion tag…who would do such a thing?" he glanced at the squirrel, hoping for answers.

* * *

_With Sakura and Sasuke…_

Sakura and Sasuke went into fighting positions as three sound ninja appeared before them.

"Move aside." The one in the middle ordered.

"Forget it!" Sasuke shouted at them angrily.

"Well then…can you wake Naruto-kun? WE want to fight him."

Sakura shifted her position slightly. 'These guys are…' Trembling, she reached for her shuriken holster. "What are you talking about? What is your purpose? WE know that a guy named Orochimaru is behind all of this!"

The fact that they knew who was behind the grand scheme of things seemed to surprise the sound ninja.

"What's that weird bruise on Naruto's neck?" Sasuke demanded. "You want to fight Naruto-kun after you did this to him?"

Dosu (The ninja in the middle) frowned slightly. "I wonder too, what that person is thinking."

Now the ninja on the right spoke. "But now that we heard that, we can't ignore it. I'll kill this girl, too. I'll even kill Sasuke."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and got into a better position.

"Wait, Zaku." Dosu spoke.

"What?" The one named Zaku looked at Doku.

Dosu stepped forward a little and knelt down. "How unoriginal. The color of the dirt shows that it has just been dug up. This grass doesn't grow here."

Sakura's eyes widened. They had discovered the trap already…

"There's no meaning to a trap if it isn't made well." Dosu concluded.

"So she threw that kunai so that the squirrel wouldn't get caught in the trap." Zaku nodded.

"Let's kill them right now." Dosu stood up, and Sakura and Sasuke prepared to fight.

The three leaped, and Sakura grinned. She cut a string that had been tied down next to her, sending a log towards the three ninja. Sasuke smiled, confident that they would not be able to dodge or block it.

"What?" Zaku exclaimed, "A log?"

'_So, there was a trap above us as well?_' Dosu thought. "Crap!...Not." Before the log could hit the three enemy ninja, Dosu put his hand on the log and blasted it apart using the metal thing attached to his arm.

Sasuke and Sakura gasped as the log split in two and the three sound ninja continued their descent towards them.

"To be blunt, you have no talent at all." Dosu smiled thinly as he prepared to attack. "People like you two need to work harder."

Just as they were in attack range, a green blur came out of nowhere. "Konoha Whirlwind!"

The three ninja were kicked away from Sakura and Sasuke and landed in front of them. "Wha…" Sakura muttered.

* * *

_In Naruto's Dream…_(**Another part that might make you cry. Again, you don't have to read this.)**

_Naruto picked himself up and stared at where Iruka had disappeared. "Why…?" _

"_That's easy to answer." A voice responded from behind him. Turning around, both Naruto's saw Kakashi walking towards him, with the usual aloof face that he was always wearing…yet something seemed different._

"_It's because you killed his parents, just like he said. But his parents aren't the only ones you killed…you killed many of my friends…Stupid fox!" _

_Suddenly Kakashi's face was replaced one with anger, and he slapped the young Naruto with the back of his hand, forcing Naruto to take a step back._

"_Kakashi-sensei!" But like Iruka, Kakashi was already walking away._

_Drip._

_Drip._

"_Why…Why does everyone hate me? Why!?"_

* * *

_In the Real World…_

"Who are you?" Asked Dosu.

The 'green blur' looked up. "I am…Konoha's beautiful blue beast…Rock Lee!"

Had the situation not been so dire, Sakura might have laughed. AS it was, the battle could result in someone's death…

Sasuke stared at Lee. "Why…Why are you helping us?"

Lee glanced behind them, and, looking at Sakura, he said, "When you are in danger, I will appear any time." He set the squirrel on the ground. "Thanks to this little guy, I was able to find you." To the squirrel he added, "Now, go."

Sakura frowned. "But, Lee…right now, we are also you're enemies."

Lee smiled faintly. "I told you before. I will protect you to the death." This was directed at Sakura, but Sasuke couldn't help feeling a bit glad that someone was looking out for Sakura.

"Oh, thank you…Rock Lee." Sakura's face showed the slightest trace of a smile.

In his mind Rock Lee was cheering, while on the outside tears were streaming down his cheeks.

'_I did it! I did it perfectly Gai-Sensei!'_

Dosu sighed. "We have no other choice." He said, taking out an Earth Scroll from his pocket.

"Zaku, I'll leave Naruto-kun to you." Dosu tossed the scroll to Zaku, who caught it easily.

"Kin, you and I will take out these three."

Lee analyzed the situation. '_Judging from both Sasuke's and Sakura's appearance, neither are fit to fight._'

Dosu was doing some analyzing of his own. '_That fat eyebrows guy is quite efficient in hand-to-hand combat. Looks like I can have some fun._'

Dosu rushed forward, his sleeve pulled back.

Sakura, in somewhat desperation, threw a kunai at him. Sasuke tensed, eyeing Kin, however, she made no intention to attack; yet.

Dosu easily dodged, but before he could continue further, Lee yanked a tree root from the ground, forcing Dosu to rebound, smashing part of the root in the process.

"You're attack has some sort of trick to it, right?" Lee asked. "I won't be able to dodge it in a normal way."

Dosu looked surprised.

"I saw you're attack before." He continued.

Zaku smirked slightly, while Sakura and Sasuke looked amazed Dosu's power.

'_He's…strong_.' Sakura thought.

Lee frowned. '_But still, I'm at a disadvantage since it's one against three._ _Unless Sasuke or Sakura joins in to make it even, which I doubt, I'll have to gamble._'

He then remembered the people behind him and renewed his resolve. '_I will defeat them one at a time with everything I have!_'

* * *

_In Naruto's Dream…_

_The young Naruto sniffed. "I…I just want people…people to recognize me!"_

"_I recognize you, Naruto." Came an old voice._

_Whirling around, both Naruto's saw the Third Hokage approaching, and at the same time both their faces lit up._

"_Hokage-sama!" The young Naruto squealed, rushing towards the old man, but paused when he held up a hand._

"_Naruto…I'm so sorry to have to put you through this and give you false hopes, that you could ever become hokage…"_

_Naruto looked confused. "What… what do you mean?"_

"_What I mean is, you will never be able to become hokage, and even if you do, the people will never truly recognize you. I'm sorry Naruto." Like the other two, Sarutobi turned and walked away._

_This time Naruto did not protest, only just stared. His dream…had been shattered._

* * *

_Now we go check in on a certain team…_

Chouji sat on a tree branch, munching on a bag of potato chips…as usual. Below him Ino was complaining.

"WE can't find any weak people at all!" She ranted.

"Actually, only Naruto's team is weaker than us." Shikamaru informed her.

Ino made a fist at Shikamaru. "You baka, do you know what you're saying!?"

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

A vein in Ino's forehead popped. "Naruto and Sakura are weak, but they have the super genius, Sasuke-kun!"

Shikamaru 'hmphed'. "I don't know about that. Geniuses can become quite fragile in real combat."

The vein in Ino's forehead got bigger. '_What!?_'

Shikamaru sweat-dropped. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry that I upset you." '_Geez, what a troublesome girl. She always glares at me when I talk badly of Sasuke._'

Ino seemed to accept this before continuing on about how great Sasuke was.

"There's no way Sasuke-kun could be defeated!" Ino turned away, folding her arms. "Although, Sakura can be."

Chouji, who was now munching on what seemed to be bread, spotted something. "Hmmmm?...Sasuke's hurt badly. And Sakura is fighting."

"What did you say?" Ino asked, jumping up onto the tree branch with Chouji. Shikamaru followed close behind.

Looking closer Ino gasped.

* * *

_Let's take a look at what Lee's teammates are doing…_

"He's late. That Lee…" Tenten sighed. "Something's wrong. He's always on time. Maybe he encountered an enemy." She looked up at Neji. "Did he…?!"

Neji smiled slightly. "That's not possible." The smile disappeared from his face. "Anyway, let's go look for Lee.

Tenten nodded. "Okay."

In a blur they both disappeared.

* * *

_Lee's Flashback…_

"_I did it! I finally mastered it!" Lee shouted, jumping up and down in joy._

"_Gentlemen! You can never run out of breath in the springtime of you're life!" Gai declared happily._

_In the background, Neji and Tenten were covered in scratches and breathing heavily._

_Gai smiled proudly. 'Only Lee was able to master this move in the end.'_

_Lee continued his little dance. "Yeah! I did it! I did it!"_

"_Lee." Gai said quietly._

"_I did it! If I try I can do it!" Lee said, having not heard his sensei._

"_Lee!" Gai repeated, this time a little louder._

_Still Lee did not hear._

"_Lee!" Gai once more said, a slightly high pitched note in his voice. _

_Lee still had not heard._

_SMACK!_

_Gai punched Lee in the face, sending his student flying a few feet._

"_Listen to you're teachers burning message!" Gai said as Lee got up on his knees._

_Tears started pouring out of Lee's eyes. "What is it? Please say it in cool words!"_

_Tenten gaped while Neji stared, both slightly disturbed._

"_This move, the Lotus, will be treated as a forbidden technique._

_Lee looked shocked. "What?" Even Neji and Tenten looked surprised._

_Lee ran up to Gai. "What's the meaning of that?"_

"_This technique is a last resort move that places a heavy burden on you're muscle cells. Normally, people use 20 percent of the power that the muscles possess. Only 20 percent…And, if you try to extract all 100 percent of it's power, you're muscles will break down. That is why you're brain limits you're powers. However, this move forcefully removes that limiter from you're brain using charka, And enables you to produce enough power to execute high speed continuous hand-to-hand combat moves."_

_Gai's voice took a more serious tone._

"_In other words, it's a dangerous technique that enables you to use powers that challenge the human body's limit. That's why you can only use this move under this condition."_

_Lee stood up taller. "What is the condition?"_

"_Listen carefully. The condition is…_

* * *

_In the Real World…_

Lee carefully unwrapped the bandages on his hands.

"Gai-sensei, I will now use this move without hesitation. Because now is the time to…"

Dosu rushed forward again.

"…protect an important person!" Lee shouted, forming a hand sign.

Suddenly Lee disappeared.

Dosu slid to a stop. '_He disappeared?_'

Suddenly Lee reappeared under Dosu and kicked his chin, sending the sound ninja flying into the air.

Lee then boosted himself into the air so that he was behind Dosu. "I'm not done yet!"

The bandages that Lee had unwrapped now started re-wrapping themselves around Dosu's body.

Dosu was fully immobilized as they started to head downwards, headfirst.

Zaku tensed. "That's not good. He can't break a fall like that." He started to perform hand signs, all the while Dosu and Lee approached the ground at a frightening speed.

"Take this!" Lee shouted, starting to spin them round and round. "Secondary Lotus!"

Right before they hit the ground Zaku inserted his hands into the ground, while Lee leaped off of Dosu at the last second.

There was a large cloud of dust, and when it cleared, it reveal Dosu, his head stuck in the dirt while the rest of his body lay almost straight up in the air.

Lee looked behind him. '_That feeling…_'

Sakura and Sasuke grinned, believing him to be dead, or seriously injured.

Zaku smirked. "Oh boy…Looks like I made it in time.

Moments later Dosu pulled himself out of the ground.

Lee was shocked. "That can't be!"

"That is a terrifying move. I was dropped onto sponge ground but that still hurt like hell.

Both Lee and Dosu stood up, with Lee panting heavily.

Dosu pulled back his sleeve. "Now it's my turn."

'_This isn't good…_' Lee thought. '_My body is still weak from that move._'

Dosu rushed forward and tried to hit Lee, who dodged, but suddenly Lee felt his ears ringing, and his whole body was wracked with shudders.

"Lee-san!" Sakura gasped, eyes wide. What was going on?

Lee's vision was murky, and his hearing wasn't all that great at the moment either.

He faintly heard Dosu saying something.

"You're move is indeed fast. But our moves are the speed of sound and excel yours."

Lee fell onto his knees, trying not to faint.

Sasuke grimaced. Things were not going well.

Dosu was not finished talking. "I will teach you that there is a wall that you can't get past just by hard work."

Sakura and Sasuke prepared themselves to help defend Lee.

It was at a stand off point for the moment, then…

Lee fell to his knees, ears bleeding. _My left ear…_ Lee raised his hand to it.

Dosu lifted his arm um, the sleeve falling back to once again reveal the metal contraption.

"There's a little trick in my attack." He rested his arm in his other hand. "Just dodging it won't help."

_What did he do?_ Sasuke wondered.

Dosu chuckled. "It's sound." He explained. "You dodged my fist, but the sound attacked you."

_Sound? _Lee thought.

"Do you know what sound is?" Dosu asked.

"Vibrations?" Sakura guessed.

"Correct. Being able to hear something means that you're eardrum catches the vibrations in the air." He lightly pinched his own ear, stretching it out a bit.

"And the human eardrum will shatter at anything above 150 decibels. On top of that, applying a shock to the semicircular oracles, An opponent will lose his sense of balance."

Lee gasped.

Dosu chuckled again. "You won't be able to move you're body well for a while."

"You're outdated hand-to-hand combat moves won't work on us." Zaku said.

Lee grimaced again.

"It was effective for a while, but I showed you my technique. So it's not going to go as smoothly as you thought it'd be." Zaku pulled his hands out of the ground at long last.

"I can control supersonic waves and air pressure, and I'm capable of destroying even a rock." His hands clenched into fists as he raised them into an X sort of shape.

"I can send air into the ground and make it into a cushion as well. It's different from your dumb moves." He opened his palms and turned them to face the Konoha group, sending two narrow streams of air at nothing in particular.

Sakura sucked in sharply, while Zaku grinned.

'_Damn It…_' Lee gritted his teeth.

* * *

_Lee's Flashback…_

_Gai smiled down at Lee._

"_Lee, the only time you're allowed to use this move is when you must protect someone important."_

"_When I must protect someone important?" Lee questioned._

_Gai put a hand on Lee's shoulder and bent down. "Still, I'm impressed that you mastered it." _

_Grinning, the sensei poked Lee's forehead, and his entire head was pushed back before flopping forward again._

"_Well done, Lee."_

_End of Flashback_

* * *

'_Damn it…!_' Lee cursed again in his mind.

Suddenly Dosu took action.

"Okay." Lee in took sharply, having a bad feeling of what was about to happen.

"You're next!" Dosu charged at Lee, but then suddenly turned so that he was charging at Sakura.

"Shoot!" Lee turned around.

'_He's coming!_' Sakura took out a kunai and prepared to defend herself.

Sasuke watched on, horrified. '_No!_'

Suddenly Lee started speeding towards them.

"That can't be!" Dosu said, shocked.

'_Lee-san?_' Sakura and Sasuke were shocked.

"Konoha Whirlwind!" Lee prepared himself for the kick, but he was still off balance from Dosu's last attack.

Dosu jumped up, placing a hand on one of Lee's legwarmers. "Looks like my previous attack was effective." Dosu sprang back a foot or two, but then charged again.

"You surprised me a bit, but I don't see a trace of your chain combo that was executed in a flash." Dosu thrust his fist forward, but Lee leaned a little to the right, his arms protecting the side of his face.

Dosu moved his arm so that it made contact with Lee, before activating the ear-splitting ring that came from within the metal contraption.

Dosu said something, but it was barely heard over the noise. "This arm amplifies the sound that is generated inside to the maximum, like a speaker!"

Lee grunted, trying not to cry out in pain.

"Lee-san…" Sakura muttered, not within range of the attack.

"But the sound of my attack is not limited to the direction of my hand. I can use my chakra and join it into by target!"

Lee's eardrum burst, and finally he screamed.

"Lee!" Both Sasuke and Sakura cried out.

Lee crumpled to the ground, barely conscious. Blackness edged his line of vision.

Dosu drew back his fist. "Now then, time to finish you off."

"I won't let you!" Sakura withdrew three shuriken, throwing them at Dosu. He easily blocked by raising the metal contraption. The shuriken harmlessly bounced off it.

Dosu lowered his arm a bit. "Geez."

Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji watched from behind some bushes.

"Come on, let's run away. They're dangerous." Chouji said.

"Look's like Naruto is out of it, while Sasuke is just barely even hanging in there, even though he hasn't done much of anything. He must be badly injured." Shikamaru said quietly.

"But even Lee is getting beaten, and now it's just Sakura and Sasuke" he turned his head to face Ino.

"What are you going to do now, Ino?"

"What, you ask?" Ino muttered, her eyes trained on the fight.

"Sakura and Sasuke are in danger. Is that okay with you?" Shikamaru pressured.

Ino's eyes flickered towards the lazy boy.

"You two were best friends, right?" Shikamaru continued.

Ino's eyes widened as she remembered the day they stopped being friends…

* * *

_Ino's Flashback…_

_A younger version of Ino and Sakura sat on a bench together._

"_What is it, Sakura? You're being serious all of a sudden."_

"_Um…Ino-chan…" Sakura looked a bit nervous._

"_So, what is it?" Ino asked._

"_You like Sasuke-kun, right?" Sakura looked at Ino._

_A light blush appeared on Ino's face, and a cold wind blew._

_Sakura stood up. "Then, we're rivals from now on." She turned and walked away._

_Ino stood up, watching her go._

_End of Flashback…_

* * *

Ino was quiet. '_Why…Why am I remembering that even?_'

"Hey, Ino." Shikamaru was still looking at her. "What are we going to do?"

"I know we have to help, but we can't do anything!" Ino said, annoyed. "We can't just jump in there."

Shikamaru frowned.

'_Besides, even if I join now…I'll just get beat._' Ino's legs trembled.

'_I…I can fight too…!_' Sakura thought as she threw several more shuriken.

Zaku suddenly sped in front of them, arms outstretched. Air blasted from the two holes in his hand, sending the shuriken back to Sakura.

Sakura covered her face as the deadly projectiles whizzed past her.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, moving to help her. But before he could, he collapsed onto his knees, unable to help.

"Damn it.

'_Air pressure?_' Sakura slowly lowered her arms as she was forced to her feet. '_My shuriken were reflected._'

Zaku lowered his arms as well, cutting off the powerful air stream.

Sakura tried to get up, but suddenly Kin appeared behind her, and grabbed Sakura's long hair, holding her hostage and forcing her to sit on her behind.

"Your hair is glossier than mine." Kin said with a scary face. "If you have time to care for your hair, train more!"

She shook Sakura's head back and forth.

"Trying to be sexy?"

"Zaku!" She called out to her team mate. "Kill that Naruto guy in front of this pig!"

"That sounds good." Zaku smiled.

"Hey now…" Dosu said.

Sasuke was too far away to help, and even if he could, he didn't have the strength. He felt like screaming, but he could only watch on, onyx eyes burning with anger and hatred at the three sound ninja.

'_I won't let you.._' Sakura shifted, but Kin yanked her head back. "Don't move!" She ordered the pink kunoichi.

Lee turned his face to them. '_Sakura-san…_'

Sakura's fingers ground out small, shallow lines in the dirt. '_I can't move…_'

Slowly, tears started to flow down her cheeks and trembled, crying silently.

'_I'm…just being a nuisance again._' Her head bowed down somewhat.

'_I've always been protected…This is vexing…_' She thought of her comrades, Naruto and Sasuke, and then of Lee.

'_I thought that I won't be this time…I thought that it was my turn to protect my important people._' Her hands clenched into fists.

* * *

_In Naruto's Dream…_

_Both Naruto's eyes were downcast, but they suddenly looked up as another figure approached._

"_Sasuke!" The young Naruto cried, looking at a younger version of Sasuke._

"_Hmph. Loser." Sasuke said, standing several feet in front of Naruto._

"_What do you mean? You're the loser!" Naruto shouted angrily._

"_Really? Then why is it that you have failed the graduation test FIVE TIMES? I never have. But, then again, it's to be expected by someone like you."_

"_What do you mean?" The young Naruto carefully watched Sasuke with a guarded expression._

"_What I mean is, you'll never be recognized. Face it, I'm better than you in every way. All the girls like me, but hate you." _

_Naruto winced. It was true._

"_Sakura will never love you, no girl will." Sasuke's voice started fading as he walked away._

"_So, do us a favor. Stop trying."_

_Out of Naruto's dream…_

* * *

Zaku stepped forwards. "Then let's do this." He slowly started walking towards Naruto, who seemed to have quieted down. However, darker and larger wisps of chakra seemed to emanate from him, not that anyone really noticed.

Out of desperation, Sasuke took out three kunai and threw them at Zaku.

Zaku turned and easily deflected them, sending the back towards Sasuke.

One got turned around so that the handle was facing the Uchiha. Before he could move, the handle hit Sasuke right below the headband, knocking him out.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, but Kin jerked her head back again. "I said don't move!"

Zaku continued to head towards Naruto

Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru leaned forward. "Hey, Naruto is in trouble!"

Ino stared, unable to move. '_What should I do…?_' Her eyes were attracted as Sakura moved.

The pink haired girl took out a kunai.

"There's no point to that.' Kin said. "That won't work on me."

Sakura turned her head just enough to let See Kin see her face. She was smiling, the hard glint of determination in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"What!?" Kin gasped.

In one fluid motion, Sakura cut off the chunk of hair Kin was holding.

Everyone who wasn't unconscious stared, completely shocked.

Kin fell backwards, still holding the cut off hair.

But in doing do her headband also fell of.

'_I've always been acting like a grownup ninja…and I've always been saying that I love Sasuke-kun…and I always lectured Naruto like I was better than him…But all I've been doing is watching their backs._'

Sakura stood up. '_Still…They always fought to protect me._' Sakura's headband sailed silently through the air, plummeting to the ground.

Lee silently watched.

'_Lee-san…You said that you liked me…and fought with your life while protecting me._'

Her headband quietly clinked as it made contact with the earth, the Konoha symbol facing upwards.

'_Everyone…this time…_' Sakura's fist tightened, trembling slightly. '_Please watch my back!_'

Ino's eyes widened. '_Sakura…_'

"Sakura-san…" Lee whispered, before finally falling unconscious.

Zaku's mouth turned into a snarl. "Kin, kill her!"

Kin turned around, taking out three senbon needles.

Sakura made several hand signs.

Zaku made a hand sign as well. '_That seal must be…_'

Kin charged forward and stabbed Sakura in the middle with them. But the attacker's eyes widened as Sakura was replaced with a log.

"Replacement technique!" Kin said.

Zaku opened up his palms. '_She's to the right. Who does she think we are? She's going to fight me using such a basic technique. _'

Sakura charged forward, four kunai in each hand.

"Kin, stay back!" Zaku shouted. Kin leaped to a safer distance.

"Useless!" Zaku said as Sakura threw the kunai at him. '_Air pressure, 100 percent. Supersonic waves, 0 percent. Power…_'

Sakura halted, making several more handsigns.

'_Can she only use one technique?_' Zaku wondered.

"Air cutter!" He shouted, using wind to force the kunai back to her, edges first.

Sakura finished the jutsu just in time. Three kunai hit her, but instead it was only a log.

'_So obvious. She's above._' Looking up, he saw her using once again the same jutsu.

"I'm telling you, it's not going to work more than two or three times." He took out three kunai and threw them at her. "This is good enough for you!"

Sakura took out her own shuriken as well.

One lodged itself in her shin, while another hit just below the elbow area, and the last one in her stomach.

Zaku looked around. '_Now where'd she go._' Suddenly he felt something wet hit his cheek, blood.

He looked back up. "What!?" '_She didn't use a replacement this time!_'

He raised his arms, and she lowered the kunai, stabbing him in his right arm. They both feel to the ground with the impact. Right before they did, Sakura bit down hard on his other arm.

"Let go, damn it!" He shouted, punching her with his bloodied arm, but she refused to let go.

Ino stared. '_Sakura…_'

* * *

_Ino's Flashback…_

_Young Ino was crouched down by a young Sakura, who was crying. The sun was just starting to set, painting the sky with reds, yellows, and oranges._

"_You always get called forehead girl and get picked on, huh?" Ino asked._

_Sakura looked up, trying to suppress her sobs. "Who are you?"_

"_I'm Yamanaka Ino." Ino replied. "What about you?"_

"_I'm…Sakura." Sakura answered after a moments hesitation. _

"_Eh? I can't hear you. Speak up."_

"_Haruno Sakura!" Sakura shouted._

_Ino rested a finger on Sakura's forehead. "I see. So your forehead is wide." _

_Ino stood up, smiling. "Which makes you forehead girl." She lightly pushed back on Sakura's head._

"_That's why you hide your forehead with your hair." Ino's hand slipped under Sakura's bangs, resting on her forehead._

"_Just like a ghost."_

_Sakura's face scrunched up again._

"_Sakura, right?" Ino turned away._

"_Come here tomorrow, too." Ino raised a hand in farewell. "I'll give you something nice."_

_Sakura looked up. "What?"_

_End of Flashback…_

* * *

Zaku punched Sakura again. "Damn it, let go!"

* * *

_Ino's Flashback…_

_Sakura and Ino stood facing each other. The bangs, which used to rest over Sakura's forehead, was now head back with a red ribbon._

"_See? You're cuter this way, Sakura. I'll give you that ribbon." Ino had her hands on her hips._

"_Arigato…But…"_

"_But what?" Ino demanded._

"_My forehead…"_

_Ino leaned forward, raising a finger._

"_You get picked on because you hide it! You're cute, so don't be afraid."_

'_Ino-chan…' Sakura thought._

* * *

_Later…_

_The two were walking side by side._

_Two of the children looked up. _

"_Eh? Who is that Ino?" One asked._

"_This is Sakura." Ino answered. She looked to the pink haired girl. "Come on, say hi to them."_

_Sakura hid behind Ino. "Hi…" she said quietly._

* * *

_Days Later…_

_Sakura ran up to Ino and some other girls, no trace of her shyness left._

"_Everyone, listen, listen!" She stopped in front of them._

"_I have a boy I like now!"_

"_Who do you think it is?" Ino asked._

"_Say it concise format." A boy said._

"_Don't tell us." Another girl asked. "It's Sasuke-kun."_

_Sakura looked surprised. "What? How did you know?"_

_Ino was shocked, while the girl beside her spoke up._

"_Isn't it obvious? Sasuke-kun is the most popular guy."_

"_What? Really…" Sakura tilted her head._

"_So there's a lot of girls who like him…What should I do?"_

_The girl beside Ino continued to watch Sakura. "Hey, Ino. Sakura has become more cheerful, don't you think?"_

_Ino looked away. "She's just acting tough."_

* * *

_A Few Days Later…_

_Sakura had her hands on her knees, leaning forward._

"_Ino-chan! I heard that Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair." Sakura said, smiling._

_End of Flashback_

* * *

Ino looked at the cut hair, Sakura's words floating back to her. '_…Likes girls with long hair…_'

Her gaze returned to Sakura, who was till holding on, despite the ferocious blows he was giving her.

Ino looked ready to cry. '_Sakura…_'

* * *

_Ino's Flashback…_

_An older Sakura stood, her back facing Ino, and Ino did likewise._

"_Your hair has grown quite long." Ino said._

"_Ino." _

_They turned to face each other._

"_Why are you on the same team as Sasuke-kun!?" Ino demanded._

_Later…_

"_I won't lose to you anymore Ino." Sakura said._

"_Me, either." Ino retorted. "I won't lose to you, no matter what Sakura."_

_End of Flashback…_

* * *

Blood was now caked Sakura's face as Zaku continued punching.

Finally, Ino started to cry. '_Sakura…!_'

For a brief moment, Sakura let go, coughing up blood, but she quickly bit down again.

'_I…I have to…_' Sakura desperately trying to hold on.

But it was useless. With one final punch, Zaku sent Sakura flying into the dirt, several feet away.

He stood up, staring at her. "Cut it out already." He growled.

"This is bad." Chouji muttered.

"Hey, Ino!" Shikamaru tried to snap his team mate back to attention.

Sakura sat up, breathing heavily. Blood trickled slowly down her face. '_I have to protect everyone!_'

Zaku prepared to attack again. "You bitch!"

But before he could attack, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji suddenly appeared in front of Sakura.

Chouji looked as if he had been dragged into it.

'_What?_' Sakura was surprised.

"Heh. Some new weird ones are here now." Zaku said.

"Ino…" Sakura muttered.

"Sakura, I promised that I wouldn't lose to you, remember?" Ino smiled.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Ino…Why are you here?"

Ino leaned forward. "I'm not going to let you take all the good parts in front of Sasuke-kun!"

'_They just keep swarming in…_' Dosu thought. '_Konoha's bugs have wandered in here again._' A dangerous gleam entered his eye.

Chouji gasped. "What are you two thinking!? These guys are too dangerous!" he cried at them.

"It's troublesome, but we have to do this." Shikamaru said, holding onto Chouji's scarf. "Since Ino revealed herself, we men can't just run away."

Ino giggled. "Sorry to get you two involved, but we're a three man team. We do everything together."

Shikamaru smiled faintly. "Oh well, whatever happens, happens."

Chouji yanked back. "No! I don't want to die yet!"

"Let go of my muffler!" He scrambled to get away, but Shikamaru kept a tight hold on the scarf.

"Shut up! Stop moving!" Shikamaru said, annoyed.

Zaku laughed. "You can run if you want…Fatty."

Chouji froze, his ear twitching. "What did that person just say? I couldn't hear him too well." His back was turned to them.

"Eh?" Zaku raised an eyebrow.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. '_Those words are Taboo on Chouji!_'

"If he says it again…" Chouji said quietly.

"I said that you can go jack off in the woods if you want, you fat ass!" Zaku said.

Chouji wheeled around, a pissed off expression on his face.

"I'm not fat! I'm just big-boned!" He roared.

Chouji's hands formed huge fists, and chakra swirled around him.

"Hurray for big-boned people!" Chouji shouted.

Sakura stared, unsure of what to say. '_Wow…_'

Chouji faced his teammates, pointing a finger at them. "Okay! You two understand that this is a fight between Konoha and Sound, right?" There was a fire burning in his eyes.

Ino smiled. '_Good, he got pissed off._'

"Geez, this is going to be troublesome." Shikamaru complained.

"That's our line." Zaku said. He frowned. '_Damn it, we were told to kill Naruto before the exam ended._'

Sakura looked at Naruto, finally noticing the strange chakra.

"Naruto-kun…"

"Sakura." Sakura looked up at Ino.

"Take care of the two back there."

Sakura smiled and nodded.

"The Ino team is going to go with everything they've have!"

"Roger!" Chouji and Shikamaru said.

"Formation Ino!"

"Shika!"

"Chou!"

* * *

**IT kinda cuts, off, but I couldn't find a better place without the chapter dragging on too long.**

**At first I wasn't going to do the memories with Sakura and Ino, but then I was like, 'Aw, to hell with it.' And put them in. Besides, a lot of it wouldn't have made sense without them. So yeah.**

**Moving on, I need two opponents for Sasuke and Naruto. I have had two so far, but I'm interested to hear other peoples ideas. **

**Here is the form, which is basically what I want to see, should you have an idea.**

**Name – **

**Gender – **

**Age-**

**Village – (Preferably Sound, but it can be different.)**

**Description – **

**Jutsu – (Do they use Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or Taijutsu?)**

**History – (This is optional, but if they have something to do with Orochimaru, please put this down. IF not, feel free to ignore this.)**

**Hobbies/Likes – (Who knows? I just might use them again later on…)**

**Dislikes – (Same reason as above.)**

**And that's it. I think…If I come up with anything else I'll put it down in the next chapter 'Naruto Awakens!'**

**Please review! (No flames please, constructive criticism welcome.)**

**Tropi**

* * *


	3. Naruto Awakens!

Hey peoples, it's me again, with yet another chapter

**Hey peoples, it's me again, with yet another chapter! **

**Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji have entered the scene and are ready to fight! Meanwhile, Naruto's condition continued to get worse, and Sasuke is STILL knocked out! Let's see what happens!**

**Geez, I have over 600 hits already…Has no one else thought of this? Seriously… **

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me. They belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Any character that does not belong in Naruto belongs to me. (Unless said otherwise.)**

**Key**

"**Word" Talking**

'_**Thought**_**' Thinking**

* * *

"Go for it Chouji!" Ino cheered on her teammate.

"Okay!" Chouji formed a hand seal. "Baika no jutsu!"

Chouji suddenly expanded to triple his size.

"And Konoha style hand to hand combat!" Chouji's head, arms, and legs withdrew, and chakra blew out of the sleeves, leg pants, and muffler.

The ball of fat jumped into the air. "Meat Tank!"

Chouji started spinning rapidly as he plummeted to the earth, gaining speed.

He sped towards Zaku at a frightening speed.

"What the hell is this?" Zaku mused. "It's just a fat ass rolling."

The sound village ninja stretched out his arms towards Chouji. "Air Cutter!"

Air shot out of the holes in his hands, hitting Chouji, but Chouji had too much momentum, as the air ran around him.

"Why you…!" Zaku increased the air pressure, but the air just keep going around Chouji.

Then suddenly Chouji jumped up.

Zaku gasped. "He flew up!"

But what goes up, must come down.

Chouji hurtled downwards to the earth, right above Zaku.

'_With his rotation, the air pressure from air cutter doesn't work very well. But even if I want to send supersonic into him, my arms would break just by touching him._' Zaku gritted his teeth.

"Tch." Dosu rushed forward to save his comrade.

Shikamaru formed a hand sign of his own. '_I won't let you…Since you're the most troublesome one…Ninpou, Kage Mane no Jutsu!_'

Shikamaru's shadow started to stretch forward.

Dosu was a few feet away from Zaku when he found himself unable to move. '_My Body…_'

Turning his head he saw Shikamaru holding him in place with his shadow.

Shikamaru grinned.

Zaku dodged right before Chouji hit him.

Meanwhile, Dosu was being forced into the most ridiculous positions by Shikamaru.

"Dosu! What are you doing?" Kin demanded. Then she saw what Shikamaru was doing.

'_This must be the Shadow Bind Technique…_' Dosu thought, still being forced into stupid poses.

"Ino, now it's up to you women." Shikamaru said.

"Okay, Shikamaru. Take care of my body."

"Sure."

Ino formed a hand sign. "Nipou, Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Kin gasped, but before she could do anything, she felt her mind slip away.

Kin's pupils grew to dots, but then slowly expanded, getting bigger than before. Her eyelids drooped down some.

"Here we go." Shikamaru caught Ino as she fell. Dosu mimicked the same pose, although there was no one to catch.

Zaku continued to dodge Chouji. "Damn it! Kin!" Zaku looked to his teammate for aid.

Kin's eyes were closed, and she said nothing.

"What's wrong!?" Dosu demanded when Kin did not respond.

Suddenly Kin took out a kunai and raised it to her own throat. "This is it!"

Dosu's and Zaku's eyes widened.

"If you move, this Kin girl is dead." Kin/Ino said. "If you don't want to retire here, leave your scroll and get out of here."

Zaku and Dosu smirked as Kin/Ino continued on.

"Once you two back off far enough where we can't sense your chakra, I'll let this girl go."

'_Why are they laughing?_' Ino thought from within Kin.

Kin/Ino turned. "Chouji!"

"Okay!" Chouji shouted, appearing from a dense tangle of trees.

"No!" Sakura shouted. "They trying to…!"

Zaku shot a blast of air Kin. Ino's way, but at the last moment Chouji blocked it. However, Kin/Ino was thrown up against a tree.

Blood trickled from a corner of Ino's body.

"Ino!" Shikamaru cried, alarmed.

The dust cleared, revealing a very sick looking Chouji. "I'm dizzy…" He wavered.

Kin/Ino looked up. "What's wrong with them…? They hurt their own teammate."

"You took us too lightly." Zaku said.

"Our purpose is not a dumb scroll or to get through this exam." Dosu added.

"What?" Kin/Ino said, shocked.

"It's Sasuke-kun." Dosu said.

Sakura's eyes widened.

Abruptly, the shadow holding Dosu in place thinned out, and then disappeared.

"Oh?" Dosu noticed.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth. '_My technique_…'

"I see that your Shadow Bind technique can only be used for five minutes at most." Dosu commented.

"It's not Shadow Bind, it's Shadow Imitation!" Shikamaru corrected.

Dosu gave no sign that heard, already saying something else. "And that girl's technique…IT seems she is able to slip into another persons mind and take control of their body. Seeing that blood from her mouth, it looks like that if we kill Kin, the girl will die too."

"You're going to kill a teammate?" Shikamaru questioned.

Zaku raised an arm towards where Kin/Ino still lay on the ground. "If we have to, yes."

Shikamaru frowned, but then his shoulders sagged. "This is over."

"Damn it…" Chouji said, having collapsed onto the ground.

"Close. You almost had us." Zaku straightened up.

"You let your guard down." Dosu said.

"Hmph. How disgusting." Said a new voice.

They all looked up to see Neji and Tenten.

"A mere sound ninja…acting like victors by beating those second class ninja?" Neji continued.

"What!?" Dosu said angrily.

"They're from Lee-sans team…" Sakura quietly said.

Tenten spotted her unconscious comrade. "Lee!"

"It looks like he screwed up." Neji noted.

"You guys just keep coming out like cockroaches." Zaku said.

"That bobbed hair kid there is on our team." Neji said. "Looks like you went overboard!" He activated his Byakuugan.

'_What is with his eyes?_' Dosu wondered. '_It looks like he's able to see everything with it._'

"If you're going to continue to fight, we will fight with everything we have." Neji warned.

Tenten reached for some shuriken, but stopped when an alarm appeared on Neji's face.

"What is it Neji?" The kunoichi asked.

'_This chakra is…_' Neji's thought trailed off when Dosu spoke up.

"If you don't like what we're doing, stop showing off and come down here." The sound ninja challenged.

"No. It seems there's no need for me to do that." Neji said.

It was then that Dosu finally noticed the dark purple chakra that emitted from Naruto in great columns.

It grew so that it practically surrounding Naruto completely and partially hiding him from view...

* * *

_In Naruto's Dream…_

_The young Naruto faced the older one, his eyes cast downward._

"_They won't recognize me…because I'm too weak!" The Young Naruto said._

"_If only I had more power…they would finally notice me!" _

_The young Naruto looked up now, but instead of blue eyes, there were snake eyes. _

"_Come to me…I have the power you seek…" A snake like voice hissed. "To me Naruto-kun, to me, and you will be recognized…to me…"_

_Out of Naruto's Dream_

* * *

The purple chakra formed into spirals, revealing Naruto in a crouching position.

Sakura looked towards him, a smile on her face, having not realized just what was wrong. "Naruto-kun, you woke up…?" She saw the formidable chakra that swirled around the Jinchuuriki as he slowly stood up.

"That's…Naruto-kun?" Ino's eyes were like saucers.

Shikamaru and Chouji looked on, afraid.

Strange markings covered half of Naruto's body.

He took a step forward, and instantly dark chakra swirled around his foot.

"Sakura…" Naruto said. "Who did that to you…?"

'_The cursed seal has covered his body!_' Dosu thought, alarmed.

"Naruto-kun…Your body…" Sakura said in a trembling voice.

Naruto raised a hand, looking at the strange black marks covering it, then lowered it.

"Don't worry. More importantly, I can feel power surging inside me." Naruto's fist tightened. "I'm feeling good right now. He gave it to me…" Naruto's mind flashed back to those snake eyes.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"I finally understand now. I'm the future Hokage. I must obtain the power to do that, no matter what, even I must let the devil take hold of my body."

'_I see…_' Dosu thought, '_Just as I thought. The bruise on his neck that the Sakura girl was talking about was that cursed seal. Still, I can't believe he woke up._'

"Sakura, say it!" Naruto commanded. "Who the hell hurt you?"

Zaku grinned. "I did!" he declared.

Naruto's gaze locked onto Zaku.

'_What?'_ Kin/Ino thought, hearing a voice.

"Ino!" Shikamaru shouted as she turned her head his way. "You're going to get confused as the enemy like that! Return to your own body!"

Shikamaru's attention turned to Chouji. "Chouji, you come here too. We're going to hide."

"Okay!" Chouji ran over to where Shikamaru was.

'_Shoot!_' Kin/Ino formed a hand sign. '_Cancel!_' In an instant Ino's mind had returned to her body, and Kin crumpled to the ground.

"Okay, you're back." Shikamaru said as Ino stirred.

"Shikamaru, what's going to happen now?" Chouji asked.

"How should I know?" Shikamaru answered.

Suddenly the black marks spread, now almost fully covering Naruto's body.

Dosu's eyes widened. '_This is…This is too much for us…! His chakra is too huge!_'

"Dosu!" Zaku called to his teammate. "Don't be afraid of that half-dead guy!"

"No! Stop Zaku! Don't you understand!?" Dosu shouted.

Zaku ignored him. "I'll kill them all with this!" He raised his arms. "Maximum Air Cutter!"

A gigantic blast of air erupted from the holes on his hand, completely enveloping the area Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura where in.

Even those who weren't front of it were attacked by gusts of wind and supersonic waves.

When the air finally stopped, there was a deep and somewhat wide trail in front of Zaku, who was panting heavily.

"They blew up into pieces." Zaku said, smirking.

"Who did?" Naruto asked from behind Zaku.

Zaku's eyes widened in shock, right before Naruto sent him flying several meters.

"Zaku!" Dosu shouted.

Zaku coughed and got up.

'_He's fast. On top of that, he moved instantly while holding those two._'

Naruto turned to face them, and started performing handsigns.

"Hayai Fuuryu no Jutsu!"

Naruto's breath formed Small spheres of rapidly whirling air, and he sent them hurtling towards Zaku.

"Don't get so cocky! I'll just dispel the air with my own!" Zaku raised his arms again and shot out air.

The spheres disappeared, revealing shuriken that had been hidden in them.

"What!?" Zaku exclaimed as the air flow from his hands stopped. "There were shurikens in the air spheres!?"

Before Zaku could redirect them though, they cut into him like thousands of tiny needles.

"Zaku, below you!" Dosu shouted.

An almost invisible blur shot in front of Zaku.

It was Naruto, who was crouched low to the ground.

And suddenly he was gone again, but Zaku felt a foot on his back as someone grabbed his arms.

Naruto smiled cruelly.

'_His chakra is totally different from before!_' Ino thought. '_Is this really Naruto? What happened to him?_'

Chouji cowered, his back to the scene.

Naruto's cruel smile got bigger as he pushed on Zaku's back with his foot while pulling his arms in the opposite direction.

"You seem to be proud of your arms." Naruto commented.

"Stop it…" Zaku pleaded.

But Naruto didn't stop. Instead, he pulled/pushed even more.

There was a sickening snap as both Zaku's arms were broken.

After hearing the satisfying crunch, Naruto let Zaku go, who fell to the ground, unconscious.

Naruto's back was turned to Dosu, but he turned his head so that he could see the sound Ninja.

"That leaves just you."

Naruto full turned around now. "You better entertain me more than him."

Dosu trembled in fear.

Naruto slowly headed towards Dosu, past Sakura, who watched.

Dosu was unable to move from sheer terror.

'_That isn't…_' Sakura watched the back of Naruto as he continued to walk. '_That isn't…That isn't the Naruto-kun I know!_' Tears welled up in her eyes, slowly trickling down her face.

"Stop!" Sakura rushed forward.

She wrapped her arms around Naruto from behind. "Stop!"

Naruto's head turned so he could see Sakura.

She looked up at him, green eyes wide with tears freely flowing down her cheeks.

"Please….Stop…"

'_Sakura is…hugging me…she cares…?_'

The curse mark slowly disappeared from Naruto, into the small seal on his neck.

Dosu was still trembling. '_The cursed seals are disappearing…looks like I'm safe for now._'

Suddenly Naruto fell down, Sakura helped keep him in a sitting position. "Naruto-kun…"

He was breathing heavily, hand to his chest.

"You are strong." Dosu suddenly spoke up, holding out his Earth Scroll.

"Naruto-kun, we can not defeat you." He set the Earth Scroll on the ground. "Let's make a deal…Please let us leave for now."

Dosu got up and stepped away from the Earth Scroll, proceeding to pick up his fallen comrades.

"We might be asking for too much, but we have something to confirm. In exchange, I will promise this. If we are to fight each other in the exam for the second time…We will not run or hide." Dosu started to walk away.

"Wait!" Sakura called.

Dosu paused, turning to face her.

"Who is Orochimaru!? What did he do to Naruto-kun!? Why Naruto-kun!?" She demanded.

Dosu did not say anything for a moment, then, "I do not know. We were just ordered to kill Naruto-kun."

Dosu turned away. '_You ordered us to assassinate Naruto-kun, yet you went ahead and did something. And instead of killing Naruto-kun, you left that cursed seal. What are you thinking?_'

Naruto and Sakura watched him go until he was out of sight.

"Hey, are you okay?" Chouji asked, rushing forward with Shikamaru and Ino.

"It's troublesome, Ino, but you take care of that Lee guy." Shikamaru said.

"Okay." Ino split off to where Lee still lay.

Neji quietly watched. '_That chakra was abnormal. Perhaps Uzumaki is stronger than I first thought._'

Sasuke started to stir. "Sakura-chan, watch out…I'll protect you!"

Chouji and Shikamaru approached him.

"What should we do with him?" Shikamaru wondered. "Let's kick him awake."

"Can I do it?" Chouji asked.

Naruto tried clenching his fingers, but it hurt. "What was I…?

Sakura watched him. '_Naruto-kun…_'

Suddenly Sasuke shouted, sitting up and rubbing his head where Chouji had hit him with a stick.

Shikamaru and Chouji knelt next to him, Chouji still holding said stick.

Sasuke glared at him, but then he caught sight of Naruto and Sakura.

Ino had carefully wrapped one of Lee's arms around her and was now heading towards them.

Sasuke looked around. '_They're gone…_' Then he noticed that a good portion of Sakura's hair was gone.

"Sakura!" he shouted.

She looked at him. "What?"

Sasuke walked up to them. "What happened to your hair?"

"Oh this?" She pointed at the badly cut hair. "Just changing my image."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"I like long hair…but, you know, it gets in the way when I move around in a forest like this." She smiled.

Chouji and Shikamaru walked up behind him.

Sasuke looked at them. "By the way, what are you doing here?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Explaining to you is just to troublesome."

Sasuke glared.

Sakura answered. "Everyone helped us."

Ino smiled from where she was. '_That Sakura…she's trying to act all tough._'

Tenten jumped down in front of Ino. "I'll take him now."

"Okay…" Ino said, giving Lee to Tenten.

Suddenly Tenten started shaking Lee violently by the shoulders. "Wake up, Lee!"

Ino stared.

Tenten let go of Lee, and he fell to his knees. He looked up, now conscious. "Tenten…Why are you here?"

Tenten knelt down. "We came to help you."

Lee looked around. "Huh? Where did the sound ninja go?"

"That Naruto boy drove them away." Tenten answered.

Lee looked at Naruto. "I see…."

"Why did you take action on your own?" Tenten demanded. "On top of that, you're hurt badly!"

Lee looked down. "Sakura-san was in danger, so as a man I had to…" His voice trailed off.

Tenten frowned. '_Geez, if Lee was alone he wouldn't have lost to them…_'She looked Lee in the eye. "You really are an idiot!"

Lee pulled his knees up to his chin. "I can't argue with that…"

Sasuke surveyed the scene quietly. '_What happened while I was unconscious?_'

Shikamaru and Chouji had moved to a farther distance.

"Sasuke is totally out of it." Shikamaru said. "He's the type of person who can't become a main character in a story.

Sakura walked over to Lee, Naruto following somewhat behind.. "Lee-san…" She said quietly.

He looked up.

"Arigato." Sakura smiled. "Thanks to you, my eyes are wide open now. I think I've become a little stronger.

Lee blushed, and in a choked up voice said, "Sakura-san…"He wiped away tears that had trickled out of his eyes. "I…it looks like I need more training."

Lee turned his attention to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun…You...are very strong. Perhaps stronger than I am." Lee looked away. "You drove the Sound Ninja away. You truly possess great potential and power…While I lost horribly."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. '_What? He lost? What's going on? Were they that strong?_'

Lee looked back at Sakura. "Sakura-san…"

Sakura looked at him.

"The Lotus in Konoha blooms twice."

"What?" Sakura wondered.

Lee smiled. "The next time we meet, I promise I will be a stronger man."

Sakura smiled as well. "Okay."

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino shouted, a few feet away. "Over here!" She waved her hand as Sakura looked over. "I'll fix your hair."

"Thanks." Sakura headed over there.

In moments, Ino had taken out a kunai was carefully trimming Sakura's hair with it.

Neither said anything for a while, then;

"Sakura…what influenced you to hug Naruto like that?" Ino asked.

Sakura thought for a moment. "I…I don't know. I was just so afraid, after what he did to that one guy…and…I think he wasn't aware of what he was doing…He looked almost…lonely." She shrugged.

"Hmmm…" Ino continued trimming away.

Out of all the Konoha Ninja, Neji was the only one who hadn't come down. His eyes were trained on Naruto.

'_Uzumaki Naruto…He is a powerful rival._' The wind blew through the trees, making the straps on Neji's headband whip about.

After Ino was done, she joined her comrades. "We hate to leave, but we can't stick around. Perhaps we'll see you at the tower." Ino smiled at them before leaving with her comrades.

"We should be leaving too." Lee got up, as well as Tenten.

"Alright." Sakura nodded. "Again…thank you, Lee-san."

He gave a sparkling smile, before joining Neji and Tenten on the branch, where they headed off.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were alone now.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "I'm not sure what happened, but it has something to do with that bruise on your neck, doesn't it?"

Naruto looked shocked. "Yes. AT least, I think it does. It's kind of hard to remember…." He frowned, scratching the back of his head.

Sasuke sighed.

"Ummm…"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at Sakura. "What is it, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Well, we shouldn't tell anyone about it. I mean, besides those who already know. We're not sure what it exactly does, yet."

The two thought about it for a moment, then Sasuke nodded.

"You're right. We shouldn't. Let's keep this a secret, at least until we figure out what it does." The Uchiha said. "If it gets really bad though, we'll tell Kakashi-sensei. But only if it's absolutely necessary."

"Alright then." Naruto looked away. "Anyways, I'm tired. Let's get some rest."

* * *

**Woohoo! It's done! And only two days after completing the second chapter, YES!**

**Okay, to explain Naruto's jutsu, Hayai Fuuryu no Jutsu, this is what it means.**

**"Hayai" means "fast", "Fuu" from the alternate you say wind and "ryu" from an alternate way to say current. It kind  
of translates into "Fast Wind Current" so... Yeah. I don't know if it's grammically correct but...**

**Thanks Ninja-Fox-Chan for helping me out with that! Cheers!**

**Anyways, I think I've decided who to use in the Preliminaries, but I'm still open! I need an opponent for Sasuke and Naruto, so if you want to submit someone, here's the form!**

**Full Name:**

**Age:**

**Gender:**

**Clan/Bloodline: (If they Have One)**

**Personality:**

**Description:**

**Jutsus: (Do they Use, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, or Genjutsu?)**

**Village: (Preferred to be Sound or Sand, but it can be different. They'll be disguised as one of Kabuto's teammates.)**

**History: (Optional, unless they have a tie to Orochimaru.)**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Interesting Fact: (optional)**

**And that's all that's needed. Thanks for reading!**

**Review please! (No flames, constructive criticism welcome!)**

**Tropi**


	4. The Contents of the Earth Scroll!

**It's the next to last day of the five day exam, and Team 7 has still not gotten the Heaven scroll they need. Fortunately, Kabuto shows up to help them, but is that enough to get their scroll?**

**Disclaimer Time! (Hooray…)**

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me. They belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Any person who does not belong in Naruto belongs to me. **

**I have already chosen the two I want to use, so I don't need any more suggestions. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas! The winners will be announced in the next chapter, at the end, with a tiny little scene including their characters.**

**Key**

"**Word" Talking**

'_**Thought**_**' Thinking**

* * *

Anko sat on a couch, talking to two ANBU who stood a few feet away. It was late in the evening.

"WE have a situation, but we can't cancel the exams." She explained to them.

"What do you mean?" One of them asked, but before she could answer, the door slid open to reveal a chuunin male ninja.

"Excuse me." The male ninja said.

"What is it?" Anko asked irritably. "We're having an important conversation here."

He straightened. "My apologies." He held up a video. "But please take a look at this."

"A video?" The Gorilla-Masked Anbu questioned.

The ninja headed over and inserted the tape into the VCR, turning on the TV while he was at it.

"Okay, observe the time here, and watch."

The occupants of the room looked at the screen intently.

When the video started to play, it showed the three Sand Village ninja. The time read 16:37.

Anko gasped. "This is…"

The ninja continued, "After the Second Exam started, one hour and thirty-seven minutes later. This is a recording of the tower at that time."

A voice crackled from the video. "Three from the Hidden Village of Sand have finished the Second Exam."

The red haired kid with a gourd on his back turned his head so that he could see the video camera.

Anko stood up. "Is this possible?"

"They finished in just 97 minutes…" The male ninja said. "This has never happened before. This is abnormal. They are not Genin. They broke the old record by four hours."

"That's not the only weird thing." Anko said. The ninja faced her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It's approximately 10 kilometers from the exam entrances to this tower. There are wild beasts, poisonous bugs, and steep forest trails." The special jounin walked over to the window.

"And here they are, acting as if nothing happened. That red-haired boy closest to us in particular is…" Her voice trailed off.

"What about the boy?" The male ninja asked.

"Haven't you noticed?" Anko asked.

"I see." The Bird-masked Anbu said. "This is quite surprising."

"What's so surprising about him? The ninja asked, still not having realized it.

"Look at his body."

Finally he saw it. "I see."

"He has no wounds. Also, his clothes aren't dirty at all." Anko said.

"Right now, even I…No…it's even impossible for other Chuunin to arrive at this tower unharmed." The light from the television reflected off the male ninja's eyes.

"It must have something to do with his ability." The Bird-Masked Anbu said.

The Gorilla-Masked Anbu spoke up. "It's been a long time since a promising guy has emerged…Although, he has an unpleasant eye."

The TV turned off.

_**Three Days Later…**_

Naruto and three shadow clones stood on top of a boulder.

"Shadow Replication, fish catching style!" They simultaneously said before jumping into the river.

Sasuke stood next to the gently flowing water. He took out three kunais

The four Naruto's chased the fish below the surface, forcing some of the fish into the air.

Sasuke quickly took aim and threw his kunai, pinning three fish against a tree on the other side of the river.

The real Naruto surfaced, gasping for air and glaring at Sasuke.

"Move around more," Sasuke told him, "I want some more for preservation purposes. Three isn't enough."

"What?" Naruto demanded angrily.

"I need three more, idiot." Sasuke repeated.

Steam blew out of Naruto's nose. "This is really tiring! Why don't you do it!?"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted from behind him.

The Uchiha looked her way.

"I'm ready for the fire. Can you use your blazing fireball?" She asked.

Sasuke said nothing, but then headed over to her. "I guess three is enough."

"Eh?" Naruto stared, but quickly recovered. "Wait, damn it!"

When Sasuke did not comply, Naruto flipped him off. Fortunately, Sasuke's back was still turned.

Several minutes later the fish were roasting over a hot warm fire.

"It's been four days since the Second Exam started." Sasuke said tiredly, poking at the fire with a stick.

"Yea, you're right…" Sakura mumbled.

"The second exam started around 3:00 P.M. We have only about 25 to 26 hours left." Sasuke continued to poke at the fire.

"A lot of teams might have already finished. If that's the case…" Sakura's voice trailed off.

Naruto, meanwhile, wasn't paying much attention.

Instead, he was focused on the fish. '_I can't wait before they finish cooking._'

Sasuke held up the Earth Scroll. '_Things aren't looking good…_'

Naruto stared intently at the fish. '_The biggest one is mine…All right…_' He grinned.

Soon the fish were ready to eat, and Team 7 munched away on their lunch.

Sakura stared at her fish. "It may be possible that there are no more Heaven Scrolls Left."

Sasuke lowered his fish. "What do you mean, Sakura?"

"Four out of the allotted five days for the second exam has already passed." Sakura lowered her fish as well. "That means that we used up 80 percent of the time for the exam already. There were a total of seventy-eight participants, or twenty-six teams. There are only thirteen Heaven scrolls and thirteen Earth scrolls, and only thirteen teams can pass."

Naruto looked over to Sakura.

"On top of that, you remember, right Sasuke-kun? That Orochimaru guy burned our Scroll of Heaven."

Sasuke nodded. "That means…"

"When he did that, only twelve teams. Also, there are no guarantees that the other scrolls are safe." Sakura looked at the Earth Scroll.

"After we split up from the other Konoha guys, we use two days to recuperate from our wounds. We'll need to increase the distance we move to a day." Sasuke watched as the fire started to die out. "The next enemy we meet could be our last chance."

He suddenly stood up. "I'm gonna go get some drinking water." He picked up a canteen and headed to a fresh water spring that was nearby.

Naruto stared after him, but his attention was redirected to the Earth Scroll that lay on the ground.

He picked it up. "Hey, hey."

Sakura looked over to Naruto, who was now holding the scroll.

"I have a good way and it doesn't require us to fight." Naruto said.

Sakura blinked. '_What?_'

Naruto grabbed his pouch and turned it over, revealing several different scrolls.

Sakura had a sneaking suspicion. "Are you going to…"

"Yep." Naruto answered. "I have a lot of scrolls with me." He picked up one that looked just like the Earth Scroll one. "A ninja technique manual, a poison manual, and a note-taking one. If we edit these to make it look like the Scroll of Heaven…"

Sakura held out a hand. "Wait!"

Naruto frowned. "Hmm?"

"Even if you do that, we don't know what's written inside." Sakura held up a finger. "If the examiner takes a look inside, she'll find out right away. Baka!"

Naruto thought for a moment. "These probably have some sort of passwords on them, and you won't know what the password is until you get both scrolls. In other words, we need the password to pass. It's got to be something like that. So?"

"We still don't know what's inside the scrolls." Sakura pointed out once more. "So there's no point in making a fake!"

Naruto hung his head.

"Geez, I thought you were going to say something better since you were so confident. You didn't think enough."

Naruto lifted his head. "But what if we can predict the contents?" He held up the Earth Scroll. "This Scroll of Earth…"

Sakura leaned forward slightly. "Are you planning to…?"

"We'll try opening this scroll…" He was interrupted by a hard punch on his head by Sakura.

"Did you forget the rule, you idiot? She told us not to look inside the scroll until we got to the tower!"

Naruto held his head, wincing. "But we're in trouble, at this rate, right?" He said.

They fell silent for a moment, looking at the extra scrolls.

Naruto held up the scroll, preparing to open it. He swallowed nervously, and looked at Sakura, who nodded.

Just as he was about to open it though, a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

"You shouldn't do that." Kabuto said."

Sakura and Naruto were stunned by his appearance.

At the moment Sasuke came walking back, carrying a canteen full of fresh water. He froze, seeing Kabuto. '_Is it an enemy?_'

He rushed forward, dropping the canteen on the ground. The cap came off and the water spilled out over the rocks.

After a quick explanation, Sasuke scolded Naruto lightly.

"Geez, you're such a hopeless guy." Sasuke sighed. "That was a close one."

"Sorry…." Sakura averted her eyes.

"Nngh." Was all Naruto said.

"Those who break the rules will be forced into a situation where they must retire." Kabuto explained. "In the previous exams, the scrolls were made so that those who opened the scroll will see a sleep-inducing inscription. So they'll remain in this forest until the exam ends."

"By the way, you're Kabuto, right?" Sasuke asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions. "What are you doing here alone?"

Kabuto looked at him. "It's not like I was after your scroll or something."

"Right…." Sasuke thought for a minute. "If you wanted to, you could've stolen the scroll from Naruto back then. So, are you after the Scroll of Heaven as well?"

"No, I already have both." Kabuto pulled out both the Scroll of Heaven and Scroll of Earth. "See?"

Saskue blinked. '_What?_'

"A lot happened, but I was headed for the tower to meet up with my teammates. Excuse me, now." Kabuto turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Sasuke called after him.

Kabuto turned partially to face him. "Fight us."

Kabuto smiled faintly, eyebrows raised. "Fight?"

Sakura was a bit shocked. "Sasuke-kun…"

Naruto started shouting at him. "You Baka! Do you know what you're saying?"

"Are you serious?" Kabuto asked.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said, not sounding sorry at all, "But we don't have time to waste."

Naruot pointed at Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke! Kabuto-san helped us!" He gestured to the silver haired ninja.

Sakura smiled apologetically. "Sasuke-kun, I don't think that's appropriate either."

"Shut up!" Sasuke said. "We don't have much choice. I told you before…This is the only way we can pass!"

"Hmmm….That's a lie." Kabuto declared.

"A lie?" Naruto questioned.

"You're not as prepared as you say you are" Kabuto said. "If you wanted to be more serious about this exam, why did you need to challenge me? You could have just attacked me when I had my guard down instead of declaring a challenge." He puched his glasses up. "That's what a ninja is supposed to do."

Naruto tilted his head slightly. "This is deep."

"I don't hate you for doing so, though." They all looked back towards Kabuto.

"That's why I shall tell you what path to take. But…Let's talk while we walk. The bonfire's smoke is carrying the smell of grilled fish. If we stick around, wild animals and enemies will attack us." The elder Konoha' nin's eyes narrowed.

The rain ninja that had been spying on them for some time eye's widened. "I've been suspected." He quickly fled.

"Are you sure there are enemies left?" Sasuke asked after they had packed up and started to move.

"Yeah. I'm sure of it. You just need to think a little to understand." Kabuto reassured the Uchiha. "In a jungle battle like this or in an open forest, do you know the cleverest way to fight?"

"No…." Sakura replied.

"The goal of the examinees is the tower at the center of this forest. That means, on the last day, the easiest place to get a scroll is around that tower." Kabuto said.

"Oh, I get it!" Sakura said. So we're going to lie in wait. That means we're going to go after the teams that have both scrolls and are heading for the tower."

"That's one-third correct."

"Eh?" Sakura's brow furrowed, confused.

"That means we're not the only ones thinking about that. People who thought of the same idea should have traps set up around the tower." Kabuto furthered his idea.

"I get it!" Naruto exclaimed. "So that means there are a lt of enemies waiting for us. IT's more exciting where there's a handicap. I look forward to it! WE just need to beat all those guys, get the Scroll of Heaven, and we'll be out of here!"

"No." Kabuto said once again. "That's only two-thirds correct."

"So what is the remaining third?" Sakura asked.

"We have to think of the 'collectors' who appear in exams like this."

"Collectors?" Sakura questioned.

"Even if the tower is really close, you're still not safe in this exam. This special birth gives birth to them. In other words, if they meet an unexpected enemy, they keep extra scrolls and give one to the enemy in exchange for being let free. Or, by giving friends in the same village a scroll they need, they can gain information to get through the remaining exams easier. Or even crush the strong ones who will get to the third exams."

"Although you've probably figured out by now, they are pretty strong. They are the worst enemies you can meet since they are never satisfied." Kabuto continued.

"I see." Sasuke said. "The reason why you came to us….You're afraid of them too, aren't you?"

Kabuto was quiet for a moment. "A bit, yes."

They did not talk much again after that for several hours, only stopping to rest twice.

AS night fell and the moon rose, they stopped to rest again. "Now, there's the tower." Kabuto said, looking at the outline of the building against the moon. "This is where things get crucial."

Naruto stood up. "Then let's go!"

There was a rustling sound, and they all froze.

'_An enemy already?_' Sakura though, alarmed.

Naruto took out a kunai and threw into the bushes. There was a squelching sound, and they all looked to see a giant centipede on a tree, struggling briefly before dying, the kunai stuck in its head.

"Oh, it's just a centipede." Naruto relaxed a bit.

Sakura twitched. "It's huge. Those legs are just creepy."

Kabuto looked down at Naruto, who had gone back into a sitting position. "Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked up. "Hm?"

"I want to avoid careless actions and unnecessary noises from here on out." Kabuto said. "If we go through this jungle making noises like an elephant, it's the same as signaling to everyone that we're coming. WE will receive a passionate welcome."

Naruto sweated nervously. "I see…"

"We will hide and move slowly, as time allows." Kabuto informed the others.

"Okay." They all nodded.

AS they walked along, Naruto came across a rope that dangled right in front of his face. He paused, staring at it.

Kabuto put a hand on the blonde ninja's shoulder and gestured up with his head.

They looked up to see three fallen shinobi, having long ago died during the exam.

AS they walked away however, Naruto's foot caught on a trip wire.

Dozens of kunai came flying out. Kabuto leaped forward in fron of the more deadly kunais, and got at least five in his back.

Naruto crashed to the forest floor, Kabuto only a couple feet away.

"Kabuto!" Naruto shouted, but with a poof, Kabuto was replaced by a log.

Naruto got up, staring at the log.

"That was close, Naruto-kun." They looked up to see Kabuto high up in a tree, unharmed.

"A replacement jutsu?" Naruto was a bit confused.

"I told you that it was going to get intense from now on." Naruto sighed, relieved.

"Let's keep going." Kabuto leaped down.

An hour later brought them no closer to the tower.

Panting, Sakrua feel to the ground. "I can't go any further." Sakura complained.

Naruto stopped beside her. "Sakura-chan!" He knelt down.

"Howe long have we walked? The tower isn't getting any closer at all."

Naruto looked at the tower. "It looks like it's so close….this is weird."

"Indeed." Kabuto started looking about. "IT seems we've already been caught in someones 'passionate welcome'. See? Look over there." He pointed behind them, at a familiar tree.

"Is that…?" Naruto gaped at the giant centipede he had killed earlier.

"It's genjutsu." Sasuke said.

Kabuto nodded. "So it seems. I was fooled." He sighed. "IT seems we were tricked into walking in circles in a very careful manner."

"So that means we're being watched." Naruto confirmed.

"They most likely want us to waste our strength and were planning a surprise attack when we became tired." Kabuto said.

"Then we've already played into their trap." Sasuke said. "They'll probably attack us soon."

Even as he said it, there were movements of many people around the, and they bunched together as they found themselves surrounded by clones from the Rain Village.

Even as they watched, they emerged from the ground, tress, and rocks.

The real enemies were at a safe distance from their trap, watching eagerly.

The clones stumbled forward towards the group.

"This is a good handicap." Naruto smiled, despite the grim situation.

"Get ready."

* * *

**Yay, the fourth chapter is done! I was originally going to include the fight scene, but then the chapter would have been to long, so I shortened it. Never fear, you'll get another neat action scene next chapter.**

**Someone pointed out to me that it hasn't differed much from the real storyline, and I apologize for this. Once we get to the preliminaries, it'll start to divert, so don't worry. **

**Constructive Criticism and Compliments Welcome! Flames will be laughed at.**

**Next Chapter: Fight with Ninja of the Rain!**

**-Tropi**


	5. Battle with the Ninja from the Rain!

**Naruto and company find themselves trapped in a genjutsu set up by three ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain, will they be able to escape?**

**Chapter five is out! I hope you guys enjoy it. **

**Now, what you've all been waiting for….it's time to announce….**

**THE DISCLAIMER! **

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me. They belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Anyone who does not belong in Naruto belongs to me, unless said otherwise.**

**The two characters used at the end of this chapter belong to their respectful owners, who I will announce in the after word.**

**Key**

"**Word" Talking**

'_**Thought**_**' Thinking**

* * *

Dozens upon dozens of the clones came stumbling forward.

"There are a lot of them." Kabuto commented. "And they're all replications."

One of the clones laughed softly. "Like a mouse in a trap."

"Shut up!" Naruto rushed forward and punched the one that had spoken in the stomach

'_Oh? They're weaker than I thought._' Sakura thought.

Kabuto turned around to see what was going on.

Abruptly, something strange started to happen to the clone. The area around Naruto's fist turned to some kind of thick liquid, and Naruto went completely through him, sending the boy crashing to the ground several feet away.

'_Who…What _are _these guys?_' Sasuke was alarmed as the clone started to turn completely to liquid, but stopped mid-way.

The clone froze in a suspended animation like state, and a head emerged from the hole Naruto had made when he had punched him. The head was followed by body, and hand holding a double bladed kunai, which he used to cut down the clone he was emerging from down to size.

'_I'll see what's going on…Sharingan!_" The heir to the Uchiha clan activated his bloodline limit, his eyes turning red.

The clone with the kunai raised it's kunai to strike Naruto, who was still on his hands and knees.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted a warning, taking out some shuriken and throwing them, cutting the clone's arm off, the kunai falling harmlessly to the earth.

The clone oh so slowly turned around, navigating it's disgustingly deformed body it had created for itself. IT had another double bladed kunai in hand, and hurled it at the raven-haired boy.

Sasuke couldn't move, his eyes locked onto the fast approaching deadly missile.

Kabuto tackled Sasuke to the ground in time, but the sleeve of his shirt was torn through by the kunai, also giving him a long but shallow cut. The weapon landed point down in the dirt about a yard away from the two.

Sakura rushed to Sasuke's side. "Are you okay?"

Kabuto got off of Sasuke and headed to where the kunai had landed and picked it up, inspecting it carefully. '_This is definitely real…_'

Naruto held out a kunai defensively. "Since Kabuto got hurt, does that mean they're shadow replications with real flesh? If that's the case, why didn't that one clone disappear? Shadow Clones should disappear if they are hit clearly. Since they don't disappear, are they illusions? Which one it it!?"

Naruto drew back his hand to throw his kunai, but Sasuke called out to him. "Stop! IT's useless!"

Naruto hesitated.

"They're just illusions. It's an genjutsu technique used by the enemy." Sasuke said.

Sakura looked at him. "But, Kabuto's wound was real."

"No, Sasuke is right." Kabuto looked around with his eyes, searching for something. "The real enemy is most likely hidden somewhere else. It seems they are attacking us from somewhere else while matching the illusion ninja's movements. They do it so it makes it seem like the illusions are actually attacking us."

"Then I'll find the idiots hiding in the forest throwing knives at us and beat them up!" Naruto said.

"Wait, Naruto." Kabuto said. "In this situation, the source of the real knife is hidden, so we can't figure out the enemies exact location. Do you understand now? That's their tactic. According to my calculations, those who are weak in taijutsu or close combat prefer to attack like this. The real enemy won't come out until we can't move at all. Listen up, we can only dodge the enemy's attack right now."

Naruto held up his kunai. "Alright, if you're planning on doing that…."

"My, how long will they last?" Wondered one of the rain ninja.

The lead ninja held up three kunai, and suddenly the same weapon appeared in all of the clone's hands.

They hurled them at the four, who were forced to either dodge or deflect. This went on for several minutes.

Naruto made a hand sign for a Kage Bunshin, but for the third time that fight he was stopped once more.

"No, Naruto. Don't waste your chakra. There's no point in attacking them." Kabuto said.

"If we get rid of all the enemies at once, the enemy can't attack during the time they come back." Naruto explained. "Since they're going to reveal their positions. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A large plume of smoke erupted, and over what must have been fifty Naruto's appeared and started to attack the clones. In the head of the battle, the blonde ninja did not notice the mark on his neck starting to glow and spread over his back.

It seemed though, that as quickly as they were defeated they formed again. Naruto shouted a battle cry. "I'm not done yet!"

Sakura looked towards Sasuke. "What should we do?"

"He's given us no real choice but to fight alongside him." Sasuke answered.

Sakura's brow furrowed. "But…"

Kabuto got into a battle stance. "He's right. Naruto can't handle this alone."

And so they joined in the battle. For hours they fought, but the clones kept on coming, just the like waves keep beating upon the beach.

AS morning came, their strength failed them and they fell to the ground.

The three main enemies prepared to attack. "The sky is getting brighter. It is finally time to hunt."

"Mubi, you can stop now. We're done crushing their spirits." The lead ninja informed his comrade. The clones slowly started to dissipate.

"Now, we finish off their bodies." At last the rain ninja trio came out of hiding.

"You're the one who injured my shoulder." The leader spoke to Sasuke. "I finally found you. You wasted our time. Now I can finally get revenge."

Naruto grimaced, but then suddenly smiled.

"What!?" The leader's eyes widened.

"Like a mouse in a trap." Came Sasuke's voice, but the one in front of the enemies did not speak.

"It went well, Naruto." Sakura said, her voice also coming from somewhere else.

They turned around to see the Kabuto, Sasuke, and Sakura behind them.

'_What…did they do?_' The leader was shocked, as well as was his companions. "That can't be! When did they…"

"You idiots finally showed yourselves." Naruto said, making a hand sign. The Sasuke, Sakura, and Kabuto also on the ground were enveloped by smoke. When it cleared away, it revealed four Naruto's.

'_Did this kid…? It can't be!_' They turned back and forth between the real people and the clones.

"I used my Kage Bunshin jutsu just to set up this trick." Naruto said, standing up. "So that I could pretend to be everybody from this team." The clones poofed away.

Sasuke had re-activated his sharingan. "Once Naruto undid his replications, the three of us hid. "So a genjutsu master was fooled."

Naruto took a step forward, but fell onto his knee, his hand clutching his neck in the area of the mark, which burned and glowed wildly.

"Naruto, you used up too much chakra. I'll do the rest." Sasuke told him.

The cornered three looked to Sasuke, but Naruto was not to be outdone. With a shout he leaped up and punched one of them, knocking him into the others in a domino-like effect.

The three slid several yards from the impact.

Naruto was struggling to stand, but there was a determined look in his eye. "I'm not going to let you take all the good parts like that.

Sasuke could hardly believe his eyes. '_Is he really _that _Naruto? When did he become that strong?_'

Mibu looked at Naruto, a look of hidden amazement on his face. '_What a kid, he can still move after all that._'

'_What incredible chakra stamina._' Kabuto marveled. '_Right after that multiple shadow clone jutsu, he transformed three of them into team mates. De did all that and can _still _move? It's the fifth day! If he masters how to use his chakra, he's going to become even stronger._' The corners of the silver haired ninja's mouth turned upwards, and his eyes narrowed slyly.

"Very good." The lead ninja said, making a hand sign that was copied by the other two. "But we're not in an unlucky situation yet. "Time is running out. We'll show you our real techniques now. Ninpou, Obaro Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A burst of smoke erupted in the area, and when it cleared, there were over a hundred clones of the three.

"Kage Bunshin?" Naruto asked.

"No, just normal clones." Sasuke said. "But they must have some sort of tactic planned out. Be careful."

"If they're only clones, there's only one real one. I'll beat up everyone until I get to the real one." Naruto said.

"Baka! That's a waste of energy." Sasuke said.

"I told you not to interfere!" Naruto's voice came out like an animalistic snarl, both exhausted from all the fighting, and because of the pain his seal was causing.

He charged forward.

"Naruto, it's impossible!" Sakura called out, but he ignored her.

Kabuto sighed. "Geez." He leaped out of the bushes, leaving Sasuke and Sakura staring after him.

Sasuke winced as he tried to use his sharingan. '_Damn…I think I used to much chakra._'

Kabuto leaped into the midst of clones. "Naruto, stop!" The boy did not listen, continuing to punch through the endless sea of fake bodies.

"Is every one of them a fake? Is this genjutsu again?" Sakura wondered out loud.

Sasuke formed the hand sign and activated his Sharingan, looking for the real three. However, his chakra gave out, and he fell to the ground.

Sakura knelt down beside him. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Fine…" he panted out. "I just don't have any chakra left. I'll have to stop using my sharingan for a bit."

Naruto was temporarily distracted by the commotion.

"Don't let your guard down!" The real one appeared in front of Naruto, holding a kunai high in the air, poised to strike. The blade came whistling down at a frightening speed.

Kabuto slammed into Naruto from the side, getting his shin cut by the weapon that had been meant for the blonde haired ninja.

Naruto got up instantly. "Kabuto!" He looked to see what was wrong to find that the older boy was clutching his shin, right beneath the knee.

"Damn it…" Naruto stood up.

"Enough, Naruto!" Naruto looked over to Sasuke.

"No matter how much you try, the real one isn't in those replications!" Sasuke said.

"Then where's the enemy going to attack from?" Naruto demanded. "If they're normal clones, they themselves can't actually harm us!"

"If we knew that, there would be no need to work so hard!" Sasuke said angrily. "This is the enemy's plan!"

Naruto knelt down to his knees. "I can't use my Kage Bunshin any more…." He murmured.

"It looks like they've reached their limit." One of them said. "It's about time."

The clone nearest Naruto suddenly leaped up in the air to attack him. Naruto immediately refocused his attention on the threat.

At the same time, three forms rose from the ground behind Naruto, the leader holding a double-bladed kunai.

'_I see it now!_' Sasuke realized. '_The real ones concealed themselves using an earth element technique, and they were planning to attack from beneath!_'

Kabuto whirled around. "Nng-ah!" Blood spattered everywhere as he went flying several feet and landed with a sickening thud, his glasses falling off. There was a nasty scratch on his face, going across the bridge of his nose.

The three fully emerged in front of Kabuto, surrounding him. The ninja prepared to attack, but were caught off guard by a side kick delivered by Naruto.

Once again there was a domino-effect and the skidded s few yards away.

Naruto crouched, panting, but grinning. "Don't let your guard down….right?"

Kabuto sat up. "Thank you, Naruto. You saved me."

Naruto flopped down onto the seat of his pants.

"That was great, Naruto!" Sakura praised him.

"Hehe…." Naruto smiled.

Minutes later he was sorting through one of the pockets of the rain ninja.

Kabuto looked over. "Hey, Naruto, how did you get that bruise on your neck? Is it an injury?"

Naruto paused to clutch the seal with his hand, which was barely visible through his collar. "Oh this? It's nothing." He smiled and went back to his rummaging.

"Aha, found it!" Naruto grabbed the Heaven Scroll and stood up, waving it triumphantly in the air. "The Scroll of Heaven!"

"That's great!" Kabuto smiled.

Sasuke stood up, studying his friend carefully. '_He…isn't what he says he is._'

* * *

Sasuke climbed to the top of the few steps of the tower, Naruto and Sakura followed shortly, Naruto leaning on his female companion for support. Kabuto waited patiently.

The bushes rustled, and two females stepped out into the light.

One had her brown hair in a ponytail and wore a black T-Shirt over a long-sleeved fishnet top and tan shorts. There was a wicked looking kusarigama near her kunai holster within easy reach.

The other one had blue hair, and had donned black pants that went to mid-shin and a blue mid-riff shirt that complimented her hair. She looked incredibly fast.

"Oh, it's just you." The brown haired one said. "You're late, Kabuto." The other girl stopped behind her companion.

Kabuto walked over to them. "Sorry, I got caught in some trouble."

Naruto looked up. "But, thanks to you, we got the two scrolls."

"No, it's because of your hard work." Kabuto said, praising the three. "Especiialy that last move, it was incredible, Naruto."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks."

"We'll go through this door…Good luck, to all of us." Kabuto gave a thumb's up.

The girl with the blue hair rolled her eyes. '_How cheesy…_'

Sasuke turned and opened the door, stepping inside, followed closely by the other two.

Kabuto and his team went inside their own room.

"Did you get anything?" A snake like voice asked when they had closed the doors behind them.

"Yes, more than I expected." Kabuto answered. "I've written down all the data pertaining to him from the second exam." He held up a card. "You need this, right?"

"So, how was he?" The speaker was an incredibly pale man with long black hair and eyes like a snake. He took the card from Kabuto when he offered it to him.

"Look's like you're fond of him, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto mused.

"I want to hear your opinion…as a spy from the Hidden Village of the Sound." Orochimaru persisted.

"You don't need that…" Kabuto said, raising a hand to his face. "Since you're the one who will determine everything." He wiped away the stain on his face, the one he had faked when the three Rain Ninja had come up behind him.

Orochimaru pushed himself off the wall. "Your cunningness is what I like." A rapid gust enveloped him, and he disappeared among the wind.

Even though he was not there, his voice continued to speak. "Good job."

* * *

"No one's here." Sasuke said dryly, observing the empty room.

Naruto and Sakura paused behind him.

"Ah, Sakura, I'm okay now." Naruto informed his team mate. He unwrapped his arm from her shoulders.

"Well, what now?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura pointed at a message on the wall. "Hey, look at that!"

Naruto looked at it and started to read out loud. "If you do not possess heaven…I don't understand."

Sakura sighed and started to read it out loud herself. "If you do not possess heaven, gain knowledge, and be prepared. If you do not possess earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you open up both Heaven and Earth scrolls, dangerous paths turn into safe paths. This is the secret of something…IT shall lead you on your way."

Naruto frowned. "What does that all mean? That part looks like it's missing a letter…"

"It's probably referring to the scrolls." Sakura said. "I think it's telling us to open both the Heaven and Earth Scroll."

Naruto took out both scrolls from his weapons pouch, and Sakura grabbed the heaven one.

Naruto swallowed nervously. "Then, let's open them…"

Slowly, they started to unravel the scrolls.

* * *

The three rain ninja had propped themselves up against a tree.

"Damn…we failed." One of them said.

The leader of them sighed and closed his eyes. "Our mission to protect Uzumaki Naruto….was a failure."

* * *

**Didn't expect that, did you? I do like putting twists on things, don't I? –grins-**

**And now for the revelation of the two characters….**

**Shirogawa Mariko, the girl with the fishnet top, belongs to Ninja-Fox-Chan. **

**Kasuga Aori, the blue-haired girl, belongs to Quathis.**

**Congratulations to both! I was extremely impressed with the entries I received from you two. **

**Coming up in the next chapter are two battles, Sasuke vs. Shirogawa, and Kiba vs. Kankuro! Who will win?**

**Now, people who don't have an account on fanfic can also review! (Otherwise known as anonymous reviewers.)**

**Constructive Criticism and Compliments welcome. Flames and Spammers will be laughed at.**

**Tropi**


	6. Orgins and Concept of the Chuunin Rank

**Team Seven has finally gotten to the tower, and are about to open their scrolls! What will happen? Is it a trick, or is something more going on behind the scenes?**

**To JC: Don't worry, no harem. ;) A lot of the cool stories where Naruto is awesome in them has harem, which just seriously dampens the good parts. Naruto's nice, but not a playboy. **

**You're all wondering what's up with the rain ninja, right? Well, you'll find out much later from now, near the end of the book. D I'd tell you more about what would be happening, but that's spoilers. As far as I'm concerned, I'll only depart the information I have to three people. **

**DISCLAIMER**

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me. They belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Kendra, the insane proctor for the preliminaries, belongs to me. Yes, I decided to replace Genma with Kendra as a proctor, but that's not the only change I'm making. Don't worry about it too much.**

**Kasuga Aori belongs to Quathis.**

**Shirogawa Mariko belongs to Ninja-Fox-Chan**

**Key**

"**Word" Talking**

'_**Thought**_**' Thinking**

* * *

The scrolls unraveled revealing…a symbol.

Naruto frowned, confused. "What is this?"

" 'Person' and 'Jin'?" Sakura couldn't figure it out.

Suddenly a bubble started forming on the words. It popped in the center, and smoke started to come out of it.

"That's a summoning inscription!" Sasuke exclaimed, alarmed. "Both of you, let go of those scrolls!"

Naruto and Sakura complied, tossing the scrolls as far as possible, just in time.

The smoke cloud became even larger, and they took a step back.

It cleared revealing…Iruka!?

He smiled. "Hello…Long time, no see."

Sakura blinked. "What's going on?"

"Looks like you three went through a lot of trouble, eh?" Iruka said.

"Iruka-sensei, why did you appear in a summoning technique?" Naruto asked.

"We Chuunins are to welcome the examinees at the end of the Second Exam. I was given the duty to pass the three of you a message by chance."

"A message?" Sakura tilted her head slightly.

Iruka slipped his hand into his pocket, and, after a bit of searching, pulled out a pocket watch and flipped it open. "Ah, you three made it just within the time limit."

He closed the watch and smiled. "Everyone….Congratulations on passing the Second Exam. I'd like to treat you all to ramen t Ichiraku's, but-"

He was interrupted as Naruto glomped the chuunin in a hug. "Yeah!"

"Hey, Naruto, at least let me finish!" Iruka choked out.

Naruto backed off and smiled innocently.

"Geez." Iruka slowly shook his head.

"Hmm…Let me get this straight." They all looked at Sasuke.

"If we had opened one of the scrolls during the exam….you would have been forced to knock us out." Sasuke looked his former sensei in the eye.

"As sharp as ever, I see." Iruka picked up the open Earth Scroll and held it up. "As you have guessed, this exam tests your mission completion ability. So if you break the rules and open a scroll before it's time, we were to knock you out."

Iruka looked at them each in turn. "We were ordered to knock out the examines until the Second exam ended."

"Hn." Sasuke glanced at his comrades. "Aren't you glad that you didn't open the scroll?"

They froze, guilty expressions on their face.

After the moment passed, Sakura remember the message on the wall. "Hey, Iruka-sensei…"

The pony-tailed ninja looked at her.

She pointed to were the inscription was. "What does the text on the wall mean? IT seems to be broken, and we can't understand it all."

"Who cares?" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Actually, my other mission is to explain to you what this means." Iruka interrupted.

"Eh? Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Iruka gestured to the message. "This is the principle Hokage-sama wrote that you should keep in mind as a Chuunin. The 'Heaven' in this test refers to the knowledge of a person, while 'Earth' is referring to the strength of a person."

Iruka started reread the message out-loud. "If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared."

He looked at Naruto. "That means, for example, if Naruto's weak point is his brain, then he should study and prepare for his missions."

"That's none of your business." Naruto mumbled. Sakura giggled.

Iruka continued to read. "But, if you do no posses Earth , run through the fields and seek strength." He sent a meaningful glance at Sakura. "For example, if Sakura's weakness lies in her strength, she should train every day. That's what it means."

"Eh heh…." Sakura smiled nervously.

"And if you have both Heaven and Earth attributes, you will be safer on dangerous missions." This comment was directed at Sasuke. "It can even become easy."

"But what about that missing letter?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, that's the letter that symbolizes a Chuunin." He held out the scroll. "The 'person' letter that was in here goes there. The survival mission you took part in these past five days tested the basic abilities of the examinees as a Chuunin. And you guys completed it."

Iruka wasn't finished yet though. "A chuunin is a commander-class. He has a duty to lead a team. Always remember that the importance of knowledge and strength in missions. Never forget that Chuunin principal, and go on to the next step."

He smiled one of his heart-warming smiles. "That was all I was ordered to tell you." His smiled faltered.

"But don't push yourselves in the third exam. Especially you, Naruto. I'm worried about-"

"Iruka-sensei." Naruto cut off his teacher. "When I got this forehead protector, I graduated from the academy. There's no need to worry." He grasped the metal part of his head band. "And this is the proof you gave me to show I'm not a child anymore, right Iruka-sensei? I may still be restless, but I'm not a kid anymore. Right now…I'm a ninja!"

Iruka blinked, his features warming up a bit. "I see. I'm sorry, Naruto."

He remembered talking to Anko about who would be summoned to the three, and Kakashi telling him off.

'_The one who knows their abilities the most right now…might be you, Kakashi-san._'

* * *

Anko was sitting on the couch in one of the rooms of the tower. The third hokage was there, as was two other chuunins.

Anko clutched the curse seal on her neck, wincing in pain.

"How do you feel? Does the cursed seal still hurt?" Sarutobi asked.

"Not really. It's gotten better, thanks to you, Hokage-sama." She put her trench coat back on.

"Isn't Orochimaru one of the Sannin from Konoha Legends?" One of the chuunin asked. "He's an S-classed exiled ninja from the bingo book that even an ANBU couldn't deal with, right? I heard the he died, but…"

"Why would he come back to the village now….?" The other chuunin questioned.

Anko trembled slightly, remembering her recent encounter with the man. "It's probably because…" She was unable to finish.

"Naruto, right?" The hokage guessed. Anko looked up, but before they could continue, the intercom crackled to life.

"Anko-sama, we have confirmed that twenty-one people have passed the exam. According to Chuunin regulations, we will have to do preliminary matches for the first time in five years. Second Exam, complete." The radio fizzled out.

The hokage looked at Anko. "Anyways, we will continue the Exam. But, we will also see what Orochimaru is up to at the same time."

Anko nodded. "Yes, sir."

* * *

All the teams that had passed were now in the main room, with Anko on the left side of the hokage, lined up with three others. Ibiki, the first proctor, as on the right side, also with three others.

Behind them were the seven sensei's of the passing teams.

Anko addressed them first. "First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam." She studied the twenty-one genin. '_There were seventy-eight people who took the exam, and only twenty-one passed. I said I was going to make half drop out, but I was really thinking less than ten._' Anko smiled slightly.

"Your team is pretty good." Gai said to Kakashi. "Perhaps they were lucky. But as long as my team I here, they can't go any further. Since, in the next stage, personal abilities will be critical. Youth is sweet and sour, and sometimes strict, Kakashi." He grinned and looked at his rival.

Kakashi turned his head side-ways to glance at Gai. "Hmm? Did you say something?"

"Kami!" Gai looked ready to tear his head out, and turned his back on the silver-haired man. "That was pretty good, Kakashi." A burning aura surrounded Gai. "That attitude is somewhat 'modern', and it pisses me off!"

Gai's team watched the whole scene. '_That's Gai-sensei's eternal rival, eh? Well, Gai-sensei completely loses to him in looks, but…_'

Lee smiled. '_Gai-sensei is the coolest one among other teachers! He's shining! All right…_' "Just watch, Gai-sensei, I too, will shine like you!" Lee was surrounded by the same burning aura as Gai.

He remembered defending Sakura from the sound ninja. '_I never want to see the tears of an important person again. So I will never lose again, Gai-sensei!_'

Neji wasn't really focused on the conflict between his sensei and Kakashi, but instead, studying Naruto. '_The ones that stand out are left, just like I thought. Uzumaki Naruto…_'

Zaku was glaring at the blonde boy, who did not seem to notice any of the attention he was receiving. '_I'm going to get revenge for my arms, Uzumaki Naruto. You can bet on that._'

One of the sensei's eyes locked onto Kabuto, who in turn, looked a bit shocked.

Temari counted the remaining Genin. '_Only seven teams out of the original twenty-six are here._'

Baki studied Gaara carefully. '_Unharmed, just as I suspected._'

'_Akamaru's acting weird._' Kurenai noted, hearing the puppy whimper quietly.

Hinata was elated that Naruto had passed.

"All the rookies from Konoha are here." Sakura murmured.

Naruto overhead this and looked back. "Old man Hokage, Iruka-sensei, and super brows are here as well." He whispered. "Feels like everyone important is here."

"I have a bad feeling about it though." Sasuke mumbled.

'_So this many remained…And most of them are new._' The Hokage glanced back at the sensei's. '_No wonder why they recommended them._'

Anko started to speak again. "We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone listen well!"

The Hokage walked forward and cleared his throat. "The third exam will begin. But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you. It's about the true purpose of this exam. Why we do a joint exam with the allied nations…"

Sarutobi shifted his hat. "To maintain good relations with the allied nations, and heighten the level of ninja. Do not let those reasons deceive you. This 'exam' so to speak is….the epitome of a war between the allied countries."

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

The Hokage took out his pipe. "If were to go back through history, the allied nations right now were neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight. That was the beginning of the Chuunin selection exam."

"So we're not doing this to select chuunin?" Naruto questioned.

"Yes, this exam does examine those who are worthy of the Chuunin title. But, on the other hand, it's also a place where ninja fight and carry their country's dignity. In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and ninja leaders will see your battles. If there's a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. At the same time, the nations are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them."

"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" Kiba demanded.

The Hokage thought over his answer carefully. "A country's power is the village's power. And a ninja's true power is only born in life-or-death situations. This Exam is also a place to show off the ninja power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning, and your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin exam because of it."

"Buy why do you say it's to promote good relations?" Tenten asked.

"I told you at the beginning to not get it confused with that." The Hokage said. "The custom of shaving one's life and fighting to maintain balance… That is the good relations in the world of ninja. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and your village's dignity."

"I don't care. Just tell us the details of this life-or-death match." Gaara said quietly.

Sarutobi nodded. "Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but…" He coughed, and someone appeared in between the genin and higher ups.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama, but I, Taotou Kendra, will take it from here." The speaker was a female.

"Please do." The Hokage said.

She stood up and whirled around. "It's nice to finally meet you all."

Naruto blinked and stared.

Then stared some more.

And some more.

He wasn't the only one to have this reaction.

One glance at her and you knew the Taotou Kendra was not all together there in the mental sense.

For one there was her appearance. She had short, tousled hair that was the color of a light chocolate, and on top of it, of all things, was a party hat; A red with yellow polka-dots party hat.

Her forehead protector was around her neck, which had been wrapped around in bandages.

She was wearing a tie-dye shirt with a fish-net top underneath, the sleeves being a few inches longer than her blinding T-shirt.

She wore black shorts and her legs were completely bandaged up down to her sandals, which were the standard ninja footwear.

Her eyes were a turquoise color, with a crazy gleams in them, and a mad-mans grin was plastered on her face. In short, she was scarier than Anko, and that's hard to beat.

"Listen up little shitlings, cause I'm only saying this once." She said, earning glares from the Genin. "There's something you all have to participate in before we actually start the third exam."

She shifted the position of her feet. "Because so many of you happen to be promising shitlers, we need to hold some preliminaries to see who can actually participate in the Third Exam. Those who lost stay shitlings till the next Chuunin exams come around, and those who pass have the opportunity to become shitlers, got that?"

"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Shikamaru demanded.

"Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowed.

Kendra rolled her eyes. "Because, there are too many of you shitlings from the first and second exam to participate in the Third Exam; Duh. According to the rules and regulations, we have to decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam. AS the old man here said,"

The Hokage coughed, glaring slightly at Kendra,

"there will be many guests from all over." Kendra continued, ignoring him. "WE can't just have a lot of matches pitting shitling against shitling because all of you passed the first two exams. Besides, there's a time limit as well, not to mention bathroom breaks in between the matches. WE could spend an entire _week_ having matches between all of you, and it's just too much of a hassle."

She paused to take a breath. "Now, if any of you shitlings don't feel good, or are too sissy to fight, I suggest you back out now, and hold your peace until the next opportunity comes around. After the weaklings-"

"Kendra." The hokage warned.

The girl sighed. "Alright, fine. After those who wish to leave are gone, we'll begin the preliminaries."

"Immediately?" Kiba asked.

"Yes, immediately. Got a problem with that little doggie?" Kendra raised her eyebrows.

Kiba growled, but said nothing.

"Didn't think so."

"But, we just got through the Second Exam? What about food, or care for our injuries? Don't we get any of those?" Ino asked.

"Nope!" Kendra responded, too overly cheerful for their liking.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru complained.

Naruto clenched his fists. '_All right, I'm going to give it my all. I made the promise with Kabuto-san too…_'

Kendra tapped a finger to her chin. "Oh yea, I forgot to mention that it'll be one-on-one fights from here on out, so you won't be able to fight alongside your team mates. If your not up to it, withdraw."

'_Like I'm going to withdraw!_' Naruto had a determined gleam in his eye, but gasped and clutched the seal as it started to burn.

Hinata looked over. "Naruto-kun, are you okay?" Sasuke and Sakura also seemed worried.

'_The time intervals between the pains are getting shorter._' Naruto realized.

"Maybe you should withdraw from the matches." Sasuke said gently.

"No way!" Naruto growled. "I worked too hard to get here, it would be a waste to back out now!"

Ibiki, Sarutobi, and Anko watched the conversation between Team Seven.

The Hokage sighed. "Just as I thought."

"What should we do?" Ibiki inquired.

"Personally, I think we should take him out of the exams and isolate him with ANBU escorts. WE need to advise him to withdraw quickly and…"

"He's not the type that'll listen to you that easily." Kakashi jumped into the conversation. "This is Uzumaki Naruto we're talking about, the student who stubbornly continued to take the exam at the academy until he passed."

"Shop fooling around!" Anko turned to face him. "I'll make him quit even if I have to use force! The cursed seal reacts whenever he tries to use his chakra, and it will try to extract the power out of him." She gently reached a hand to her own seal. "It is a forbidden technique that undermines the afflicted person. It amazes me that he is able to stand it…a normal person would be dead." She looked to Sarutobi. "Well?"

"Naruto, you're not in any condition to fight." Sakura insisted, backing Sasuke up.

"Shut up." Naruto hissed.

Sakura was shocked. Naruto would never… "Naruto…"

"I said be quiet." Naruto turned his back on her, and she flinched away.

Hinata frowned. '_Naruto never tells people off like that…I wonder what could be wrong?_'

They were all distracted when Kabuto raised his hand.

"What is it?" Kendra asked, looking at him. "Do you wish to withdraw?"

"Yes, I'll quit." Kabuto answered.

"Let's see…." Kendra flipped through some pages on her clipboard. Yakushi Kabuto, right? You may leave then."

"Thank you." The silver-haired ninja turned to leave.

"Kabuto, why are you leaving?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, but my body is completely worn out already. Even before the First Exam, the quarrel with the sound ninja team made me deaf in the left ear. I ca'nt fight a life-or-death battle right now."

"I see." Sasuke said.

The Hokage frowned. "I've seen him here before a few times. I believe he retired during the Main Exam last time too. What is he thinking?"

"Anko." Ibiki looked to the other proctor.

"Oh, right." She flipped through her own clip board. "Yakushi Kabuto….according to our recors, he has failed six times in a row."

"What about his personal history?" Sarutobi inquired.

"He didn't stand out in his academy years, and his grades were normal. He passed the graduation exam on his third try. After that, he did two C rank missions and fourteen D-rank. He doesn't have any outstanding accomplishments. But…." Anko paused.

The Hokage raised his eyebrows. "But?"

"It's about his years before academy. Do you remember the story of the boy that was brought back from the Kikyo Pass Battle?"

Sarutobi nodded. "I do. A jounin from one of the medic squads took custody of an enemy's boy that was left on the battlefield. So he's that boy?"

Kasuga turned so she could see Kabuto clearly. "Don't act on your own. Did you forget Orochimaru-sama's orders?"

Kabuto turned his head slightly to peer at her from the corner of his eye. "I'll just leave it to you two. You shouldn't have any problems. It's your chance to show what you're capable of. Since you're irritated that I got ahead of you."

Kasuga averted her eyes. "So you're Orochimaru's favorite. Don't get too confident."

"Alright…senpai." Kasuga twitched, but said nothing.

Kabuto briefly let his thoughts rest on the two boys of Team Seven. '_Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun…I wanted to play with you a little longer, but if I keep going on…The old blood might awaken. I'm a spy, even if I don't look like one. I can't let you see my true face here. Also, if you're going to watch it yourself, my information gathering job is done, right…Orochimaru-sama? Let's save the fun for the future. Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, you two as well._'

"If anyone else needs or wants to leave, I suggest you do so _now_. There is no withdrawing after we start the preliminaries." Kendra's voice sliced through the silence.

Sakura looked away. '_I need to alert them about Naruto-kun's bruise…_' She started to raise her hand, but Sasuke grabbed it and forced it down, shaking his head.

"He'll never forgive us if we tell them." Sasuke said quietly. "Leave it for now. Besides…I want to fight him."

Sakura trembled. "But…" She looked away and nodded. "If you…If you insist."

Sarutobi blew on his pipe. "What Orochimaru said earlier bothers me a bit. Let's just let Naruto continue on for now and observe his actions. If the cursed seal opens up and his powers become uncontrollable, we'll stop him."

"But….!" Anko sighed. "Alright, if you insist."

Kendra spoke up. "Alright then, since no one else looks like they're going to leave, we'll begin the preliminaries. As I said before, it's a one-on-one match, which means it'll technically be like real combat out in the field. Now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches. The winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until your opponent dies, or gets knocked out, or admits defeat. If you don't want to die, give up if you feel it is needed."

"However," Kendra looked each of them in the eye, even Gaara, "If I judge that the match is over, it's over. The only reason I'll stop you is to prevent unnecessary deaths. Your opponents will be chosen by that screen over there." She nodded to the top corner of the room, where one of the panels had slid open.

"It will randomly display the names of two fighters for each round. Without further ado…let us begin."

The screen flickered on and started to flash names at random.

It stopped on….

_**Uchiha Sasuke vs. Shirogawa Miriko**_

Sasuke smirked. '_Right off the bat, eh?_'

Mariko looked a bit smug. '_Perfect._'

"Those whose names are displayed, step forward. If you aren't one of the ones who are to fight, get your asses into the stands, or get caught in the crossfire."

Sasuke and Mariko stepped forward.

"Are there any objections?" Kendra asked.

"No." They both answered.

'_Sasuke, if you want to fight me, then you had better not lose._' Naruto thought as he walked with the others to the elevated platforms on either side of the room.

After everyone had gotten a safe distance away, Kendra raised her hand. "Alright…Begin!"

* * *

**And the preliminaries have begun! How will the battle between Sasuke and Mariko turn out?**

**I typed up both battles and added it to this, and it was over twenty pages, so I decided to split it into two chapters. The concepts for both are entirely different, this one focusing on the origins and responsibilities of being a chuunin, while the other is just focusing on the battles.**

**Also, those whose matches have the same opponents, (Gaara vs. Lee) will not be typed up, because we already know the outcome, and my fingers hurt after typing so much, so I'll save myself some pain and just skip over it, only declaring the matches and the victors. However, battles like this, or Kiba vs. Kankuro, **_**will**_** be typed up. **

**Since I still need to add some finishing touches to the next chapter, you won't be getting it until either late Sunday, or Monday, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday, but no later. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter. **

**Kendra's habits are based off of someone I know, including the swearing and craziness. Personally, I think she would really wear the stuff designed for her if given the chance, but that's just me.**

**Constructive criticism and Compliments Welcome. Flames and Spams will be laughed at.**

**Tropi**


	7. Commencing of the Preliminaries

**The battle between Sasuke Uchhiha and Mariko Shirogawa has begun! Who will be the winner?**

**Thanks so much to Quathis, who was a great help during my temporary writer's block. **

**And of course, to Ninja-Fox-Chan, who provided me with some good jutsu names. Be expecting more requests, fox-chan, this story is far from over.**

**Okay, just to let you all know why Kankuro's last name isn't in here…it's because he doesn't have one. I know, his opponent for the preliminaries was less important, and **_**he**_** had a last name. Pfft. WE should e-mail protests about Kankuro's last name to Kishimoto-sama. I checked everywhere for his last name, and it just doesn't exist. Poor guy. (I think the same goes for Temari as well. This is an outrage!)**

**I'm sorry this chapter is late, but school started a week ago, and I got a bad case of writer's block. DX Plus, writing battle scenes are hard, especially if you're writing from the ground up.**

**I want to talk about reviews for a moment. I know this story is popular, because I've gotten about 2,500 hits for it, but, out of all those hits and six chapters, only thirty reviews. I know you guys are out there, reading, and I'm telling you now, **_**reviews fuel my passion for writing**_**. The less reviews I get, the less I feel like working on this story, and the more reviews I receive, the faster the chapters come out. So please, PLEASE, review! Thank you.**

**Disclaimer**

**The Naruto cast does not belong to me. They belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Shirogawa Mariko belongs to Ninja-Fox-Chan**

**Aori Kasuga belongs to Quathis**

**Taotou Kendra belongs to me. **

**Key**

"Word**" Talking**

'_Thought_**'** **Thinking**

'_**Snake**_**' Orochimaru speaking mentally**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Uchiha Sasuke Vs Shirogawa Mariko**_

Sasuke started it out. He slipped some shuriken out of his pouch and threw them.

'_Too easy._' He thought as the shuriken made contact with her.

Abruptly Mariko was consumed by smoke, only to reveal a log with shuriken stuck into it.

"What!?"

"Cygnus Down Jutsu!" Sasuke whirled around only to be blasted by hundreds of white feathers, blinding him.

Slowly, the feathers dissipated. But it wasn't the battle grounds Sasuke saw. Instead, it was an endless and barren plain that stretched on for miles, so far that he couldn't see the end. He was being buffeted by strong gusts of wind.

'_How…? Genjutsu?_'

Out of nowhere a giant bird came down, talons outstretched. It looked like a giant white eagle, with a curved beak and proud amber eyes, burning with the desire to catch its prey; him.

With a yelp, Sasuke leaped out of the way, but the cloth on the back of his shirt tore, and he felt a stinging sensation on his skin.

But the genjutsu was interrupted as he received a blow to the stomach, this time it was no genjutsu.

With a grunt, Sasuke flew backwards and slammed into a wall, but he was far from done.

"Hmm…I expected a bit more of a fight. IS this all an Uchiha has to offer?" Mariko put a hand on her hip.

Said Uchiha growled. "Katon, Housenka no Jutsu!" Several small fireballs came hurtling towards the girl, who neatly dodged, but the right half of her hair was singed on the ends.

"Well, maybe you _do_ have a tough side…Cygnus Down Jutsu!" She performed the hand seals, and another blast of white feathers came towards him.

"Don't think the same trick will work twice!" Sasuke shouted. "Bunshin no Jutsu!" Five clones appeared and split up. The real Sasuke darted to the far left and took out some more shuriken.

Quickly aiming he threw the shuriken at her, but she dodged just in time, this time getting a scratch on her left arm.

"Ouch…." She touched down to the ground. "No biggie." She murmured, inspecting it. "Hmmm…Alright. Time to step it up a bit."

She took out her kusarigama, as sharp and deadly looking as it had been when he had first seen it.

She started whipping it around in circles, gaining momentum.

'_Aw shit._' Sasuke leaped, the sickle part embedding itself into the ground where had been only seconds before.

This went on for several minutes, she would hurl the sickle, and he would dodge.

However, he slipped up, and before Sasuke could realize what had happened, his shin had been wrapped up in part of the chain, the sickle digging just below his knee cap and cutting off a good deal of circulation to his foot.

"Wha-?" Sasuke gasped, yanking back.

"Here I come!" He looked up to see Mariko hurtling towards him at a frightening speed.

"Gah!" He reeled backwards in shock and pain, blood dripping from a deep wound in his leg.

'_I could hardly even see what happened!_'

One moment the chain had been wrapped tightly around his leg, and the next it had been in her hand, speeding down.

She dashed off, giggling and holding the kusarigima abouve her head triumphantly, the blade stained red.

"Not so tough now, are you? Let's see how you do against this! Hakucho Hane no Jutsu!" White feathers began to form on her arms, and in moments, she was airborne.

'_That an interesting Jutsu…_' Kakashi reflected idly.

"It's not over yet!" Mariko flapped higher into the air, and formed handseals. "Tekko no Hane Jutsu!"

The white feathers turned to a solid gray, reflecting the lighting. The feathers were literally made of steel now.

She arced, and then came speeding towards the Uchiha, the edges of the feathers sharp edges glinting with a deadly light.

It was his only chance for victory.

As quickly as he possibly could Sasuke formed handseals.

Kakashi's eyes widened. '_That's…_'

"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A stream of fire issued from Sasuke mouth and formed a giant fire sphere, before launching at the girl.

"Shit!" Mariko couldn't dodge in time, so instead, she did the only thing she could think of.

She raised her wings in front of her and his as much of her body behind the steel before becoming enveloped in the intense heat.

AS the fire dissipated, it revealed a blackened and crumpled form.

"Is she dead?" Sakura wondered outloud.

Kendra leaped over and inspected the prone figure, nudging it with her foot.

There was a moan, and she waved a hand. "She's alive! Get the medics!"

In a louder voice the proctor announced, "The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!"

_**Victor: Uchiha Sasuke**_

* * *

Sasuke grinned and limped to the right hand side of the stands.

Lee was there in an instant, helping the Uchiha up the stairs, despite his protests.

The medics came in with a stretcher and lay Mariko gently down on top of it. Her face was covered in ash, and most of her hair was burnt. The wings had disappeared, having lost the chakra to sustain them.

"Alright, shitlings! Get over your little party and get ready for the next round!" Kendra shouted, making the genin jump in alarm and face towards her.

"Put your piggy eyes on the board and be amazed as it selects the next two opponents!" She said in the same loud voice, gesturing to the screen.

Gaara briefly wondered if he was allowed to kill her.

Aori smirked. '_Heh, what an interesting battle._'

The names flashed past on the screen, and there were a few tense minutes of silence before the opponents were finalized.

_**Aburame Shino **_

_**Vs**_

_**Zaku Abumi**_

"Alright, you see what's on the screen!" Kendra said.

The two quickly hurried down, and Naruto noted that both of Zaku's arms had both been bandaged. '_Huh…_'

"IF there are no complaints…" Kendra's gaze rested on Zaku, but he seemed determined.

"Well, whatever then. Begin!"

* * *

_**Aburame Shino Vs Zaku Abumi**_

_**Victor: Shino**_

* * *

Shino quietly walked up the steps back to his team.

"Th-that was great!" Hinata said.

Shino looked at her and nodded. "Thank you, Hinata-san."

"If you're done gloating…" Kendra drawled. "It's time to select the next two opponents."

Everyone looked up at the screen as it selected the next match.

_**Inuzuka Kiba **_

_**Vs**_

_**Kankuro**_

"Alright!" Kiba cheered, and there was an approving bark from Akamaru. '_At least it's not that Gaara guy!_' Kiba thought.

"Alright, you two shitlings get your asses down here now!" Kendra demanded.

Kiba and Kankuro wasted no time in hurrying down to the arena.

"Alright, any complaints?" Kendra asked.

"Nope." Kiba replied.

"None whatsoever." Kankuro grinned.

Kendra looked back and forth, then nodded. "Alright…begin!"

* * *

_**Inuzuka Kiba Vs Kankuro**_

Akamaru leaped out of Kiba's coat, tail stiff and teeth bared.

Kankuro smirked. "Do your worst, dog boy."

Kiba growled. "We'll make you and your little mummy into a chew toy."

"Give it your best shot!" Kankuro took a fighting stance.

"One chew toy, coming up! Gijyou Ninpou, Shikyaku no Jutsu!" Kiba bent down on all fours, his body positioned like that of an animal poised to strike.

"Heh!" Kankuro shifted, but before he could do anything else, he was hit by a powerful blow to the stomach, compliments of Kiba.

"Nani!?" He gasped, eyes widened in shock. '_He's fast!_' Kankuro landed several feet away on his side, eyes squinting in pain.

"I hope that isn't the best you got." Kiba said, placing a hand on his hip.

Kankuro slowly got up, wiping the blood that had dripped down from his mouth. "I could say the same to you." He whipped out the bandaged mummy on his back and unwrapped it.

Kiba's grin disappeared as the bandages came undone, revealing a strange puppet.

"That's…" Shikamaru said, "A marionette."

Sakura gaped. '_He's a puppeteer?_'

"It's only fair." Kankuro said casually. "You have a mutt, I have a puppet."

Kiba growled. "Akamaru is _not_ a mutt!"

"Prove it!" Kankuro challenged, attaching chakra strings to the Crow.

"No problem!" Kiba took out a couple of dark spheres.

'_Those are smoke bombs._' Naruto realized.

With an well aimed toss, Kankuro found himself enveloped in black smoke. He looked around, desperately trying to find his way out.

His thoughts were interrupted as something hit his cheek. It felt like the pads of a dogs pads, but it was gone so fast he couldn't be sure.

Then it happened again, this time on his shoulder, than on his leg.

"Ugh!" He grimaced as he was hit once more in the head. His face was flushed red from embarrassment. '_I can't believe I'm getting beat up by a little puppy!_'

Temari smirked, hearing Kankuro groan in pain. '_Weakling._'

'_Okay, that's enough._' Kankuro leaped just as a white blur came hurtling towards him. "I'm not that easy!" He said, aiming a well aimed kick.

Akamaru yelped and came flying towards Kiba. "Akamaru!" Kiba cried, catching the little white dog in his arms.

The smoke cloud dispersed moments later, revealing Kankuro and the Crow. "I was right, that really is a mutt."

Kiba growled. "You have it coming, girly faced."

Naruto and Shikamaru snickered at the insult, as well as some of the others.

Kankuro got a tick mark over his eyes. "For the last time, IT'S NOT MAKE-UP!" He growled.

He wiggled his fingers, and in moments Crow had come to life. The puppet sped forward, a blade sticking out it's palm, and Kiba could faintly smell the poison on it.

He leaped up and towards the side, dodging the attack with ease. "Too slow! Let's show him how things are done around here, Akamaru!"

Akamaru yapped and leaped out of Kiba's arms. Kiba sifted through his weapons pouch and pulled out a little brown pills.

Kankuro's eyes narrowed. '_That's…a soldier pill._'

Akamaru readily chewed and swallow the pill. In moments his fur started to bristle and turn red.

"There's a reason why his name is _Aka_maru." Kiba said, grinning.

"Ha ha." Kankuro said sarcastically. "Tell me something I don't know."

"How about I show it to you! Now, Akamaru!" Kiba crouched down into a feral position and Akamaru leaped onto his back without hesitation. Kiba himself popped a food pill into his mouth.

Kiba formed several handsigns. "Gijyuu Ninpou, Jyuujin Bunshin!" There was a large poof of smoke, and when it cleared it revealed…two Kiba's?

"What the…" Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Whoa!" Lee exclaimed, awed.

Kankuro shifted his stance and moved Crow closer to him.

"That puppets not going to help!" Akamaru leaped off of Kiba, and the two started to charge towards the puppeteer.

"Half Beast Master Combat Move! Gastuga!" Both started spinning rapidly until they seemed like giant grey bullets. Without warning, they combined, forming what seemed to be a tornado headed straight for Kiba.

"A-Ah!" Kankuro barely dodged in time. He was cut by the stray rocks that went flying from the ground as Kiba and Akamaru made contact with the giant stone tile.

"Shit!" Kankuro swore.

"Don't think you're getting away! Fukai no Kiba no Jutsu!"

There were still clouds of dust, yet Kankuro could see Kiba's fangs grow to twice their normal size.

'_I'm screwed!_' Kankuro prepared himself for the attack he could not avoid.

Kiba charged forward, and bit down on the puppeteers left arm, with Akamaru close behind, choosing Kankuro's right arm to cause equal pain.

Kiba frowned. '_He…This isn't right, he tasted like…!!_'

"You fell for it!" Kankuro grinned…no, it wasn't Kankuro. There was two plumes of smoke, and suddenly Kankuro and Crow were in the opposite places.

'_Nani!? When did he…!?_' Kiba's eyes widened.

"I did it when you used those smoke bombs." Kankuro said, answering the dog boys silent question. "It doesn't take me long to switch places."

'_He's good._' Neji thought.

Kiba and Akamaru frantically tried to pull away, but the Crows extra two sets of arms held them in place.

"Too late!" Kankuro made several complex movements with his fingers, and a pipe extended from the Crows mouth, and in moments a plume of smog enveloped the two.

Hinata's eyes widened. '_Kiba!_'

"Referee! Stop the match!" Kurenai shouted at Kendra.

Kendra looked up, thought it over for a minute, and the nodded. "That's enough, Kankuro!"

Kankuro smirked, and retracted the pipe, cutting off the source of the smog. What was already in the air dispersed quickly, and Kankuro had the Crow back off.

Akamaru had returned to his dog form, but both were on the ground, motionless.

Kendra calmly walked towards them and knelt down, listening for any heartbeat.

She sat back up and gave a thumbs up. "They're fine, just knocked out!"

Kurenai sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I don't know what I would do if…" her voice trailed off, and Hinata and Shino both understood what she was trying to say.

Kendra stood up. "And the shitling who progresses to the next round is Kankuro! Good for you! Not get your ass back up to the stands."

Kankuro grinned and complied, joining his brother and sister.

_**Victor: Kankuro**_

* * *

"Alright, let's get the next match on the road!" Kendra wheeled around to watch the screen, which had once again started flashing names.

It froze on two new names.

_**Nara Shikamaru **_

_**Vs**_

_**Kin Tsuchi**_

* * *

**Sadly, I'm not going to go into details for that last battle, simply because we all know the outcome. Sorry, but it's seriously a waste of time, and I'm sure you're all more interested in the other battles.**

**The next chapter will be mentioning just a lot of battles, a little more insight on the aftermath of the battle between Neji and Hinata, and then focus on the battle between…Naruto and Aori. AFterwards, we'll have another chapter with the hokage talking about the third Examn and stuff, and then we'll move onto training during the one month period. After that is the third exam, and then...WEll, i'm sure you can all guess.**

**BTW, I now do requests! Check my lookup for more info.**

**Constructive Criticism and Compliments are welcome, a LOT. Flames and Spams will be laughed at.**

**Tropi**


	8. New Promise, New Move, New Seal

**The battle between Naruto and Aori nears, but first other events must take place. How will Naruto fend against Kabuto's teammate, especially when the seal attempts to suck all his power away?**

**Oh man, this is so late. I've been working on Loyalties, plus there's school and all that crap, not to mention I've gotten into an online game called Fiesta. But it's here now! Enjoy!**

**Be prepared for a little more NaruHina than in the episodes. KAWAII!**

**Also, If I do not respond to any of your PM's, then it is because fanfiction is doing something weird on me, and I'm not receiving alerts of any kinds. Yes, I've checked, and they ARE enabled, so don't ask. Quite simply, don't PM me for the time being.**

**Disclaimer**

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me, they belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Shirogawa Mariko belongs to Ninja-Fox-Chan**

**Aori Kasuga belongs to Quathis.**

**Taotou Kendra belongs to me.**

**Key**

"Word**" Talking**

'_Thought_**' Thinking**

"_**Snake**_**" Orochimaru speaking mentally**

* * *

_**Victor: Shikamaru Nara**_

* * *

_**Temari Vs Tenten**_

_**Victor: Temari**_

* * *

_**Hyuuga Hinata Vs Hyuuga Neji**_

"Oh? Huh…I thought something about those two were similar." Naruto said. "But I see that they come from the same families now.

Hinata's eyes were glued onto the screen. '_O-Oh…_'

Kendra cackled silently. '_Inner clan Rivalry…just what I love to see!_'

Hinata timidly walked until she was face to face with Neji in the arena.

Kendra looked back and forth, the mad light in her eyes gleaming brighter than before. "No complaints?" She asked

Neither of them said anything, so the proctor shrugged. "Alright. Begin!"

_**Victor: Hyuuga Neji**_

* * *

Naruto headed right for Hinata, who had collapsed to the ground. "Hinata!" He called, closely followed by Lee and Sakura.

Kurenai was helping lay Hinata flat on the ground as to not hurt herself.

Naruto crouched over the defeated heiress. "Hinata, are you alright?" There was some concern in his voice…and perhaps a bit more.

It was several seconds before she responded. "N…Naruto-kun…" Her voice was faint and weak.

"Yes?" He asked, holding her hand.

"I…" She was too weak to even finish her sentence. Slowly her eyes started to close, much to Naruto's alarm. '_Was I…able to change…a little?_'

AS if he had understood her silent question, he answered in a low voice only she could hear. "Yes…you did, for the better."

A faint smile was etched onto Hinata's face before she went limp. The blonde pursed his lips.

"Hey…Uzumaki. Let me warn you about two things." Naruto looked at Neji through narrowed eyes.

"If you're a ninja, stop with that unsightly cheering for a stranger." Neji said. "And one more thing… You're better off leaving her to die. She is of no use."

Naruto stood up. "You wanna say that to my face?" He challenged. Neji smirked, irritating Naruto even more.

Naruto charged to attack, but Lee got in the way, keeping Naruto from progressing. "Hey!" Naruto complained.

"I understand how you feel, Naruto…but you should fight in a proper manner. Even one who is of no use will defeat a genius through hard work. All I can say is that the main matches will be exciting!" He paused. "But I may be his opponent. I will hold no grudge if you were to go against him."

There were a few moments of tense silence, then Naruto relaxed, turning away. "Fine."

Abruptly Hinata started to cough up blood, redirecting everyone's attention back to her. Kurenai quickly unzipped Hinata's vest and felt her heart beat.

'_This isn't good._' The jounin thought. '_She's going into cardiac arrest!_' Kurenai glanced at Neji. '_Was he…trying to kill her?_'

"If you have time to glare at me," Neji said, noticing the look on Kurenai's face directed at him, "I believe you should use that time to look at her."

'_He's right._' Kurenai redirected her attention. "Medical team! What are you doing! Get over here NOW!"

The three medics rushed over. "S-sorry!" They stammered as they laid out the collapsible stretcher and placed her on it.

Naruto rushed over on it, overhearing their talk about her status.

"We have to take her to the emergency room immediately." They picked up the stretcher and hurriedly started to walk away.

Naruto turned, watching them go. A single tear slid down his face. "Hinata…" He knelt down near the few traces of her blood, causing Neji to frown.

The kitsune boy dipped is fingers in the blood and lifted up. '_I promise…_' He stood back up and faced Neji, bloodied hand clenched in a fist, holding it out towards the smug Hyuuga.

"I will win!" He declared boldly.

Kendra eyes darted between the two of them. "As much as I enjoy watching all this, but we need to select the next match, not to mention clean up this…" She hesitated. "Blood."

The hokage sighed in relief. '_Thank goodness. I thought she was going to say 'appetizing' or something…still…_'

They all stared at her for a moment, and Kendra scowled. "What the hell are you all looking at me like that for!? GET YOUR ASSES BACK IN THE STANDS NOW!"

Everyone quickly scurried back up the stairs.

Shikamaru looked at Chouji. "Hey, Chouji, you're in trouble. Only the strong people are left. The sound guy looks like he's the strongest on the Sound Team; I hear Lee can fight on equal ground against Neji; And that Sand guy….Guys like him are the most difficult."

On cue, Gaara made temporary eye contact with Chouji. The large boy's knees shook, and he sank down. "I don't care…I'll just give up." He whimpered.

"That means…" Asuma said slyly, "You won't be enjoying the all-you-can-eat-buffet at Yakiniku's."

"Eh?" Chouji's face scrunched up. "But I want that…!"

Asuma knelt down by his student. "Don't worry, if things look bad, I'll stop the match like I did with Hinata's. Okay?"

Shikamaru and Ino frowned. '_Don't motivate him with food._' The girl silently chastised.

'_Actually, you didn't stop Hinata's match._' Shikamaru thought, raising an eyebrow.

Chouji was already motivated, and he jumped into the air. "Bar-b-q!" He cheered. "Barbeque, here I come! All-you-can-eat, yeah!"

Kankuro's eyes shifted their sighs onto Gaara, whose eyes were a bit wider than usual. '_He's in a dangerous mood._'

'_He must have gotten excited by watching that battle._' Temari thought. '_The beast within him, that is._'

Kankuro looked for a way to escape and spotted Sasuke, who was standing a little ways away from the others. "Hm…That Uchiha boy looks interesting…Let me go do something." He started to head for the stand opposite.

"Eh?" Temari looked at him strangely.

"I'm going to go on a little recon mission." The puppeteer waved airily.

"Hey!" He called to Sasuke as he approached. The Uchiha looked up. "Hn."

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be with your teammates?" Kankuro walked up to him.

"That does not concern you." Sasuke said, eyes flickering to the arena.

'_I see._' Kankuro smirked. "His name's Uzumaki Naruto, right? Is he good? It seems that he has the potential to be very strong. What kind of guy is he?"

"He is…okay, I suppose. He is an average genin." Sasuke answered, watching the puppeteer warily. "Why are you so interested?"

"Curiosity." Kankuro replied, standing next to him and leaning on the railing.

"Alright little shitlings, shits, and of course, Shitkage, time for the next pair to be selected!" Kendra said, pointing a finger at the board.

* * *

_**Haruno Sakura VS Yamanaka Ino**_

"Alright girlies, get down here!" Kendra said.

The two smirked at each other as the faced each other in the arena.

"There are no complaints, proctor." Ino said.

Kendara raised an eyebrow. '_Geez, I didn't even ask…Oh well._' "In that case…Begin!"

_**Haruno Sakura VS Yamanaka Ino**_

_**Victor: None; Draw**_

* * *

Sakura wobbled to her feet as she stood up next to Kakashi. "Ino and I aren't going to the finals, are we, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked.

The silver haired man shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry."

Sakura smiled. "No, it's alright."

Kendra waved a hand. "Time to announce the next match, so shut your yaps and watch."

Temari bit her tongue. She was seriously getting annoyed with the proctor.

* * *

_**Kasuga Aori Vs Uzumaki Naruto**_

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "Finally!" He was about to leap down from the stands, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Try not to use too much chakra. We know." Kakashi said quietly so that only Naruto could hear. The blonde boy looked at his teacher in amazement. '_They…_'

He nodded, and jumped down from the stands.

Several of the genin their leaned over the railings, interested in how well the blonde would do. This included, Sasuke, Kankuro, Neji, and Lee. Gaara and Dosu leaned in slightly too.

"You ready? I'm not gonna go easy on you." Aori said.

Naruto smirked. "I can handle anything you throw my way."

Kendra's eyebrows were raised as she looked between the two. "Alright…IT doesn't seem like you haven't got any complaints. Begin!"

"Heh! It's on!" Aori suddenly disappeared.

Shocked, Naruto looked around. "Wha-Agh!"

He felt a kick in his side, sending him sprawling several feet away.

Gai pursed his lips. '_She's almost as fast as Lee, but not as powerful._'

Kakashi was also analyzing her technique. '_She moves fast, but her attacks are not strong…She must wear her opponents down until they can't fight anymore. This is bad._'

Aori reappeared again, this time behind Naruto and kicked him the back. Naruto rolled another few feet and snarled, struggling to get up before she could strike again.

"Oh geez…Here I was hoping for a good fight. Oh well." Aori shrugged. "I'll just have to make do."

'_Damn it!_' Naruto gave a cry as Aori once again delivered a punch to his leg, forcing him to fall. Mid-way her foot made contact with his side once more and sent him flying.

'_What am I supposed to do!?_' He barely dodged her next attack, a blow to the head that would have knocked him out for sure.

"_**Remember Naruto-kun,**_" hissed a snake like voice in his head, "_**Great speed comes with great sound. Listen carefully!**_"

'_Nani!?_' Naruto looked around for the source voice, but saw nothing. The kitsune boy felt a searing pain in his chin, and was hurtled up and away.

"You might as well surrender now." Aori commented, standing still for a moment. "You're going to lose."

Naruto snarled. "Never!" The voice echoed in his head. '_Great speed, great sound eh?_'

Aori shrugged. "You're loss." She flashed off.

This time Naruto was prepared. As Aori appeared in front of him to punch his face, he grabbed her fist with his left hand.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, except a few.

'_Nani!?_' Aori thought, alarmed.

"Heh!" Naruto drew back his right hand that was clench in a fist and punched her in the stomach and releasing her hand.

"Urf!" Aori crashed into the wall and slumped down, but quickly got back up. She was no longer smiling. "Lucky shot. Don't think it'll happen again."

Now Naruto smirked. "Don't be so sure."

Growling, Aori once again disappeared.

Knowing what was about to happen, Naruto leaned to the left and grabbed her shin and ankle with his hands.

"A-ah!" Aori found herself spun around and around as Naruto spiraled in one spot before releasing her. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

Before Aori could get far, she found a kick in her back positioned just so that she would fly upwards. '_Shit!_'

"U-zu-Ma-ki Naruto Rendan!"

There was a hard kicked to her face, and she crashed into the hard ground, face first. Aori coughed, spitting up some blood, before laying still, save her breathing.

Kendra nodded approvingly. "The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Alright!" Naruto cheered, pumping a fist into the air. "I did it!"

Neji's brows furrowed together. '_He has guts and strength to match. Heh._'

Lee was doing a jig. "Alright! I knew Naruto could do it!"

Gaara studied Naruto carefully. '_Uzumaki Naruto, eh?_'

'_I'm shocked. He can still perform jutsu, even with the seal...He must have an incredible amount of chakra, not to mention…_'

Kakashi smiled and walked up to his student. "Alright Naruto…Let's go take care of that seal."

Naruto looked at his sensei, pouting. "But I want to see the rest of the matches!"

"Sorry, but if we leave it as it is, it might do something worse. I won't listen to your selfish requests. Come." Kakashi started to walk away.

Sighing in defeat Naruto followed after him, waving goodbye to his team.

Nobody had noticed when one of the sensei's slipped out of the room as well.

* * *

Naruto sat in the middle of a complex diagram on the floor, in a room made of stone. The area was supported by large stone pillars.

His vest had been taken off, fully exposing the seal on his neck. He himself was part of the diagram, intricate symbols written all over his bare skin. Each line wrapped around his seal forming a single circle around the mark.

Kakashi formed a hand seal. "Bear with me, this will hurt."

Naruto nodded, and Kakashi continued on with the hand seals. "Fuuja Houin!" Kakashi placed a hand on the seal, activating the jutsu.

Naruto let out a high pitched scream of pain as the symbols on the floor and his skin started so wind their way around the seal.

AS the jutsu finished, Naruto let out one last cry before collapsing onto his hands and knees.

"If that cursed seal tries to activate again, the power of the Fuuja Houin will hold it back.

However, Naruto." Naruto looked at Kakashi and made eye contact. "The sealing technique utilizes your will as it's main source. If you lose faith in your power and will, the cursed seal with reactivate."

Naruto gave the faintest of nods before losing strength and falling unconscious, his crumpled form hitting the stone with a solid 'thump'.

* * *

_**Gaara vs Rock Lee**_

_**Victor: Gaara**_

* * *

Everyone watched silently as they carried Lee off the battle scene.

Gaara, angry at the interruption, walked back up the stairs to await the next and final match.

* * *

_**Kinuta Dosu Vs Akimichi Chouji**_

_**Victor: Kinuta Dosu**_

* * *

"Are you okay?" One of the medics asked, kneeling next to Chouji.

"I want to eat meat…" The boy muttered faintly.

"The opponent went easy on him." Shikamaru speculated.

"He lost, but I guess I'll take him out to eat anyways." Asuma said.

Kendra sighed. '_IT has finally ended._'

* * *

"So you can use sealing techniques now. You've grown, Kakashi."

Kakashi whirled around to look behind him, only to see a figure stepping out from behind a pillar.

"You're…"

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Well, kinda. I'm sure we all know who it is, but if you don't that's okay. **

**Once again, I'm sorry for the late update.**

**Constructive Criticism and Compliments welcomes. Flames and Spams will be laughed at.**

**Tropi**


	9. Orochimaru's Ambition!

**AS the preliminaries come to an end, Kakashi faces off against Orochimaru. Meanwhile, with the other genin, the matches for the Third Exam are selected. Who will face against who?**

**Yay! Fanfiction is being nice to me again, and I can get reviews!**

**Thankfully, I managed to recover my files, so all is good. Although, this chapter is kind of…blah. But it is essential to the story, so I had to do it. Trust me, I'd **_**love**_** to skip to the main matches, but if I did, it would probably ruin the rest of the story.**

**Disclaimer**

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me, they belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Shirogawa Mariko belongs to Ninja-Fox-Chan**

**Aori Kasuga belongs to Quathis.**

**Kendra Taotou belongs to me.**

**Key**

"Word**" Talking**

'_Thought_**' Thinking**

"_**Snake**_**" Orochimaru Speaking**

* * *

"It's been a long time, Kakashi-kun." An ominous chakra surrounded the being, similar to that which had surrounded Naruto in the Second Exam.

"Orochimaru." Kakashi's eyes narrowed.

"You've grown, but…I have no interest in you." Orochimaru said. "But I do have business with the boy behind you."

Kakashi lifted his chin slightly. "Why are you interested in Naruto?"

Orochimaru tilted his head. "You're lucky; you got what you wanted already. You didn't have _that_ when I left. That…sharingan in your left eye."

Kakashi's face darkened.

"But…that's not what I'm interested in, not anymore. After all, what good is it being able to copy jutsus if you don't have enough chakra to use them?"

"What is your purpose?" The silver-haired man demanded.

"The recently made Hidden Village of Sound is mine." Orochimaru explained. "You understand if I just say that, right?"

Kakashi's eyelids lowered a fraction. "What a stupid ambition."

"Oh my, that was blunt. But...to accomplish my ambition, I need others to by my arms and legs and accomplish my work for me."

"So Naruto is one of those pieces?" Kakashi asked, a hint of anger in his voices."

"No." Orochimaru answered smoothly. "He is a supreme piece. And the ones taking the exam right now are…sacrificial pieces." Slowly he started to walk towards Kakashi.

"Don't take another step towards Naruto!" Kakashi threatened, getting into the stance that would allow him to use Chidori.

Orochimaru smirked, but then frowned as the lightning blade gathered in the younger man's hand.

"Even if you are one of the legendary Sannin, I can sacrifice my life to kill you."

Orochimaru's shoulders shook up and down, laughter escaping his lips.

"What's so funny?" Kakashi demanded.

Orochimaru paused and looked the Copy Ninja in the eye. "What you say and what you do don't agree with each other."

"Eh?"

"There's no point in using that seal. You know, right? That boy seeks recognition, and he will do anything to achieve it; no matter who it is from. He possesses that kind of disposition."

"You took advantage of that." Kakashi said. "But Naruto won't go to you."

"Hmph. Believe what you like, but he _will_ seek me out." Orochimaru turned around and started to walk away. "Seek me out for recognition, that is."

There was silence except for the sound of Orochimaru's feet against the stone.

The Ex-Konoha Ninja paused for a moment. "You said you would kill me…Try, then…if you can." Chuckling to himself, the man disappeared into the shadows.

Kakashi's eyes were wide. '_Sacrifice my life to kill him? Am I mad?_' He straightened up and slowly walked back to Naruto, where he picked the boy up and carried him away.

* * *

The genin who had passed the preliminaries were line up in front of the Hokage.

'_Including Uzumaki Naruto, who isn't here, there are five Konoha, three Sand, and one Sound…_' The Hokage tipped his hat forward a bit and spoke out loud. "I will explain about the main matches."

'_Finally._' Sasuke thought.

"Your main matches will be showed up front to everyone. WE wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representatives. Therefore, the main matches will begin in a month's time." Sarutobi stated.

"We're not going to do them right here, right now?" Shikamaru asked.

"The one month time period is to send out invitations, if you will." The Hokage answered.

"What do you mean?" Neji spoke up.

"What I'm trying to say, is that we are going to announce to the feudal lords and head ninja of individual countries that the preliminary matches are over. Time is needed for them all to gather." Sarutobi explained. "This is also a time period where you can prepare yourselves against your opponent, now that you have seen some of your comrades abilities."

'_This geezer says stuff in an indirect way._' Kankuro though apprehensively. "I still don't understand; can't you give us a better explanation?"

"In short," Sarutobi removed the pipe from his mouth, "This time is used to build up strategies to use against your enemy, and increase your skill level. It is a time to analyze the information you have gathered from the preliminary matches and use it to your advantage. The previous battles we just had were like real combat; neither of you had any idea of the other teams capabilities."

Shikamaru's eyes shifted to Gaara, who was standing right next to him. '_It is true that I didn't expect this guy to use sand…_'

The Hokage continued on. "But the main matches will not be like this. There are those who have revealed everything in these battles, and those who have used very little. To make things fair, work hard and improve yourself, coming up with new techniques in the following month."

Sasuke briefly looked over at Gaara and Neji, two powerful opponents, and then his thoughts went to Naruto. '_I can't win in my current state. I can't fool around, I need to get serious._'

* * *

Kabuto knelt down before Orochimaru. "The preliminary matches have concluded, and they are now going to prepare for the main matches." He reported.

Orochimaru did not respond to this directly. "This place has become so peaceful. This country has become to soft, too used to safety. The rest of the countries are increasing their military influence."

Kabuto stood up. "Are you able to kill him now?"

Orochimaru smirked. Kabuto could always interpret what he was saying. "Yes. Although, I'm not sure if it's going to be fun killing that old geezer."

"Really?" Kabuto asked. "To me, it seems like you are hesitating. The other villages are getting ready to clash, and it will be a long conflict. You are trying to be the trigger to it...and he is the bullet, right? Uzumaki Naruto?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. Sometimes his assistant was too perceptive. He smiled slightly. "Your speculation is so good, it creeps me out."

"That's not true." Kabuto protested. "I didn't know about Dosu, Zaku, or Kin. When I was gathering information, I had to purposely get hit to find out their identities. You think too highly of me…It seems to me, that I have not gained your full trust."

"Was there a need to tell you, my right arm, about those children?" Orochimaru said coyly. "That is proof that I trust you."

Kabuto looked at his superior.

"That is why…" Orochimaru said, "I am asking you to take care of Naruto-kun. The cursed seal I gave him was sealed by Kakashi. It doesn't matter much, but before the darkness in his heart disappears, I want you to kidnap him."

"You seem to be in a hurry." Kabuto commented. "That's unusual of you."

"There is someone else also of interest." Orochimaru said off-handedly.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" Kabuto guess, but it was more of a statement than anything.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed again. '_He is indeed sharp._' "Naruto-kun is a kindred spirit who seeks to be realized in the eyes of the people. He cannot die until he completes this task. When we fought, however brief, he showed open defiance, engaging me in battle without fear of death, although he knew I was much more skilled. I thought he would be the type to be more careful with his life."

Orochimaru paused to take a breath. "According to your information, contact with the Uchiha, as well as several others who are of less importance, have changed his outlook on life. Sasuke if very influential to Naruto….So, we must separate them as soon as possible."

Kabuto stared at the pale man with intense eyes before starting to walk off. "Well then, excuse me."

"Kabuto, if you…" Orochimaru began, causing the silver haired teen to pause. "If you want to stop me…You have to kill Naruto-kun, _now._ You cannot kill me, you are only as strong as Kakashi."

The other said nothing for a long while, and Orochimaru chuckled. "Just kidding. You can go now. I trust you."

Kabuto disappeared without a word.

Orochimaru became pensive for a moment. '_That face on him…I wonder what he was thinking._'

* * *

"I'd let you all go now, but there is something important we must do first." Sarutobi said.

"What is it, I have to hurry and train!" Sasuke said impatiently.

"Don't be so hasty." The Hokage scolded lightly. "Just take a slip of paper from the box that Kendra is holding."

Some of the genin looked a bit nervous about getting near the crazy proctor, but nevertheless, took a paper out of the box when it came by them.

Afer they were finished, Ibiki asked if everyone had gotten a slip of paper; they all answered yes.

"Now, tell me what number there is on your piece of paper, starting from the left."

"Eight." Dosu said.

"Four." Sasuke stated.

"Seven." Temari said.

"Five." Kankuro declared.

"Three." Gaara said.

"Nine." Shikamaru announced.

"Two." Neji said.

"Six." Shino answered when it came his turn.

'_So Naruto's must be one._' Sarutobi thought. "We will now tell you the matchups for the final round."

"That's what we drew for?" Shikamaru wondered.

"Ibiki, show the match-ups." Sarutobi indicated it was time.

"Alright." The first proctor flipped the clipboard that he was holding it so that the paper on it was shown to the genin.

* * *

_**Round One**_

_Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuuga Neji_

_**Round Two**_

_Subaku no Gaara vs Uchiha Sasuke_

_**Round Three**_

_Kankuro vs Aburame Shino_

_**Round Four**_

_Nara Shikamaru vs Temari_

_**Round Five**_

_Kinuta Dosu vs Winner of Round Four_

* * *

'_Perfect._' Neji smiled slyly when he saw who he was up against.

'_Uchiha Sasuke…I was hoping for…But this will do._' Gaara thought sullenly.

'_Sasuke is matched up against the Gaara guy…_' Sakura fretted.

"I have a question." Shikamaru asked. "If it's a tournament, does this mean only one person can become a chuunin?"

"No, that's now how it is." Sarutobi said. "These main matches will have judges, including me, the Kazekage, and the feudal lord himself. There will also be head ninja from the other countries who will be potential clients. These judges will grade you on your performance in the main matches. Their grading will let you become a Chuunin, if it high enough. Even if you lose in the first round, there is still a chance you might become a Chuunin."

"So there's a possibility that everyone here can become a Chuunin." Temari stated, trying to clarify it.

"Yes, but that also means that it is possible for no one to become a Chuunin." The Hokage said. "Winning the matches in the tournament means that you are able to show off your skills in battle. Do you understand now?"

'_Damn it, how troublesome._' Shikamaru thought, annoyed.

"That is all. We are adjourning this until next month." Sarutobi announced.

Sasuke glanced over at Gaara and Neji. '_I have to go up against Gaara, and he was strong enough to beat Lee like it was nothing…If I manage to beat him, I have to go against Neji, and that's only if he wins._'

They were herded out of the building and out of the forest by Chuunin escorts, who left them to do their will once they were outside the Forest of Death.

'_I'll need to start training right away._' Sasuke thought, heading for his house. '_But first…_'

* * *

Kabuto stood by Naruto's hospital bed. There were several dead ANBU by the door.

Naruto was hooked up to various machinery, including an oxygen mask.

"Being to excellent isn't always a good thing." Kabuto said, even though Naruto wasn't awake to listen. "We have stood out too much. Perhaps it is unfortunate the Orochimaru-sama cast his eyes on the both of us."

Kabuto looked Naruto over carefully. '_He is young,_ _yet he already has that much darkness in his heart? Orochimaru took advantage of that; eventually this boy will have _that_ technique used on him._'

* * *

Orochimaru stood on a balcony overlooking a garden. "Kabuto…he just might kill him."

* * *

Kabuto lowered a knife to Naruto's oxygen mask, but just as he was about to cut open the tube that led to the kitsune boy's mouth, he found it whipped from his hands.

Kakashi stood there behind him, knife firmly clasped in his hands.

"Very good, Kakashi-san." Kabuto said. "But, next time you should have come earlier."

Kakashi looked over the fallen ANBU. '_The ANBU members I stationed here were killed so easily?_' "You're not a normal Genin…" Kakashi commented, stepping forward. "You're quite a guy, you noticed my presence and took out that weapon immediately."

"It wasn't that great." Kabuto said.

"What do you want with Naruto?" Kakashi asked. "I may have to capture and interrogate you depending on your answer."

"Can someone as lowly as you be capable of doing that?" Kabuto taunted, turning to face the jounin.

"Do you really want to find out?" Kakashi countered. "You were the son of one of Konoha's best medical ninja…Your name is Yakushi Kabuto, isn't it? Tell me…how close are you to Orochimaru?"

Kabuto smirked. "If you capture me right now, you might not be able to prove the connection between me and Orochimaru."

"Just answer my question."

"And if I say no…?"

"I'm the one asking questions here." Kakashi said. "Just answer it."

"If you let me stick around, you'll find out." Kabuto answered. "So can you let me go this time?"

"You're sure selfish." Kakashi held up a kunai. "Don't screw around with adults, you little rat."

"Please don't act so bossy." Kabuto countered, holding up a grapple like knife of his own. "I have the upper hand here right now." He positioned it over Naruto's heart.

Kakashi stiffened in alarm, and then, without warning, knocked the knife out of Kabuto's hand, before pinning him the floor.

Abruptly one of the supposedly fallen ANBU got up and started to run, causing Kakashi to look behind him. '_I see._'

Kakashi appeared in the doorway, right in front of Kabuto's path.

"_A Shadow Replication?_' The younger thought with alarm, changing direction. He found himself cornered, however.

Just when it seemed all over for him, another ANBU got up and moved, throwing shuriken at a window before leaping through the cracked and shattered glass.

AS Kakashi looked out the broken window pane, Kabuto removed his mask, smiling slyly before he became lost from view.

'_Damn, he got away._' Kakashi thought. '_What a guy._'

The other standing ANBU fell down, once more dead. Kakashi's shadow clone disappeared.

He checked the fallen Kabuto, who had not moved since being pinned.

'_Just as I thought. This is the Dead Soul Technique which gets a corpse's hear to beat temporarily and allow the user to control them. He even manipulated his face. Not only that, but he erased his body scent and muted his heartbeat. He pretended to be an ANBU member he killed, and still had an escape route handy. This isn't surprise though…He _was _adopted by a medical squad leader._'

Kakashi stood back up. '_If a guy like this is under Orochimaru's command…I'll have to better myself. I won't be able to win in my current state…_'

With a backwards glance at Naruto, Kakashi left the room.

* * *

**Alright, the Preliminary Matches are now OFFICIALY over with; it's time for the one month training that will be condensed down to a couple of chapters! WHOOT!**

**Constructive Criticism and Compliments welcome. Flames and Spams will be laughed at.**

**Tropi**


	10. Two Perverts and a Monkey

**A day has passed after the Second Exam was finished, and Sasuke has yet to locate Kakashi. So he decides to take a break to visit Naruto and finds the very man he's looking for.**

**I'm sooo lazy, eh? Ehehehe…Anyways, here is the new chapter! It's a bit lighter than the previous on, methinks. Enjoy!**

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me; they belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Kendra Taotou belongs to me.**

**Anyone's characters who are used in the current chapters will have their disclaimer put up as well.**

**Key**

"Word**" Talking**

'_Thought_**' Thinking**

"_**Snake**_**" Orochimaru Mentally Speaking**

* * *

"What do you mean he's not taking visitors?" Sasuke demanded angrily, slamming both hands on the hospital countertop.

"We're sorry, but Uzumaki-san is not well enough to be visited just yet." The receptionist apologized.

Sasuke was about to retort, but a loud voice interrupted them…a very _familiar_ loud voice…

"What the hell do you mean you can't train me!? Why do you have to train Sasuke!?"

Sasuke glanced back at the receptionist, a smug smirk on his face and an eyebrow arched. "Methinks you need to go over that again."

The receptionist grimaced. "Second floor, first door on the right at the top of the stairs."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Hush Naruto, this is a hospital. Be mindful of the other patrons." Kakashi said.

"But it's not fair!" Naruto whined. "What does he have that I don't!?"

"I'm sorry Naruto, but it's council's orders." Kakashi said. "Besides, when you're well enough, there are two people who have agreed to teach you."

"Oh yea, who?" Naruto grunted, pouting.

"They'll be here within the hour." Kakashi said dismissively. "Don't stress about it too much; I can assure you that it will turn out fine."

"Kakashi-sensei, Naruto." The door to the warden slid open and Sasuke stepped in.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun." The silver-haired Jounin waved. "Perfect timing. I was just about to go and find you."

Naruto gave Sasuke a withering glare, before jerking his chin up and looking the other way.

"Well, later Naruto." Kakashi turned to leave.

"Ah wait!" Naruto said desperately. Kakashi and Sasuke paused on their way out to look at him. "What is it?" The Uchiha asked.

"AT least wait with me until they arrive." The blonde pleaded.

Sasuke thought about this for a moment. "Hm…no."

"Eh!? WAIT!" But they were already gone.

Naruto glowered at nothing in particular. "Kakashi could have made a shadow clone to stay with me…even a cardboard cut-out would have done the job…"

As if on cue, there was a poof of smoke, which revealed a smiling cutout of Kakashi giving one of his traditional half waves.

"Haha, VERY FUNNY!" Came the un-amused shout.

* * *

"Come on, you need to go with Ebisu."

"Awww, but I want to keep burning up the ants with my death glare of DOOM!"

"If by 'death glare of doom' you mean by burning them up with a magnifying glass, then you can do that later."

"Promise?"

"…Suuure."

"Yay!"

* * *

The blonde cackled evilly to himself as he graffitied on Kakashi's face using a black sharpie he had found in the bedside stand.

HE was just finishing up adding a vampire mouth where he would assume Kakashi's real mouth to be when the door slammed open.

The blonde gave a startled yelp, dropping both cardboard cut-out and sharpie. "ACK!"

"Hullo shitling! Miss me?" A very familiar proctor stood in the doorway, Ebisu behind her.

"Y-you! And YOU! What are you two doing here!?" Naruto demanded, rudely pointing at them.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ebisu asked, clamping a hand over Kendra before the crazy proctor could respond. "We're here to teach you…"

"Nani!? Why you two? I beat you easily, and she….she just scares me!" Naruto whimpered and leaned back a little from Kendra, who, for unknown reasons, had started giggling madly to herself.

Ebisu glanced at the mad-woman, pushing his black sunglasses back up. "That was rude…both of you." He scolded. "If Kakashi hadn't asked me to help out, I wouldn't have…what the hell did you do!?"

It seemed as if the closet pervert had finally spotted the Kakashi cut-out on the floor.

"Uh…" Naruto swallowed thickly. "Well, you see…I…erm…"

Ebisu had a visible tick mark. "Uzumaki, I believe it is time to teach you proper respect! Get out of that hospital bed and run!"

"EEK!" Naruto gave a half yell and snatched his jacked from where it hung on a small coat rack, whipping it on, and jumping out the window.

"Hn…" Kendra had calmed down and started walking back down the stairs. "I'll take care of the discharging crap…"

"Fine by me." Ebisu answered. "I'll meet you at the ramen stand."

"Kay."

* * *

Naruto leaned on the bridge railing, panting heavily.

He had done every trick that he knew to escape Ebisu; using the wall blending trick, using shadow clones. Hell, he had even used a transformation jutsu disguise himself as that lady on the Come Come Paradie advertisement. Nothing worked.

"Tired already?"

"Argh!" Naruto gave a surprised yell, tumbling over the edge and into the water, which only went up to knees, thankfully.

Ebisu appeared where the kitsune boy had been but a moment before.

"Just give up already!" Naruto wailed. "You're so friggin persistent!"

"Why are you mad at me?" Ebisu asked. "I thought we agreed to a game of tag. I'm _supposed_ to be persistent."

'_That's true…_' Naruto thought.

"Naruto, you should now know how good I am. Just give up so that we can start training."

"Don't kid me!" Naruto stood up. "I'm going to win against you, and receive training from Kakashi-sensei! Even if I have to beat you up!"

Ebisu chortled. "Looks like you've still got a bit of energy left."

Giving a battle cry, Naruto jumped into the air, readying a fist.

Ebisu watched him, feeling unthreatened. It was the wrong thing to do.

Suddenly the closet pervert was kicked from behind by a shadow clone, where he was then punched into the water, creating a remarkably large splash.

"Hehehe…" Naruto grinned, landing on the other railing, facing the direction where Ebisu had landed in the water. "Second time I've won. Don't take it too personally though; I'm sure I'll just keep on beating you."

Abruptly there was the tell-tell sound of a shadow clone dispersing.

'_Nani!?_' Naruto thought, eyes wide. '_You mean that was just a shadow clone? Crap!_'

"What was that? I'm afraid I didn't hear you correctly." The real Ebisu appeared in front of him, and the boy fell backwards into the water, creating another significant splash.

"I think we both realize who the winner is now." Ebisu said smugly.

"Damn it…" Naruto sulked and looked away, not paying attention to the moving shadow in the water behind him.

"BLEEAARGH!" Kendra leaped out of the water, baring her teeth and wearing a sadistic and insane look on her face.

Naruto turned around to see his assaulter, only to scream like a little girl and faint.

While Kendra was busy laughing her head off, Ebisu picked Naruto up out of the water and headed for Ichiraku's.

* * *

Naruto sat as far away from Kendra as possible, slurping down his ramen so fast that the bowl of empty ramen bowl's growing ever more ominous to Ebisu and his wallet.

Kendra was seated at the complete opposite end of Naruto, since he refused to go near her after she had surprised him in the water. Ebisu sat between them, next to Naruto, as to try and reassure him. IT seemed to be working, but every time Kendra glanced over, Naruto would freeze up and watch her every move out of the corner of his eye until she went back to her meal.

In short, Naruto had become terrified of the rainbow dressed lady.

"Now Naruto- Oh for the love of Kami, stop whimpering whenever she looks at you!" Ebisu said, exaggerated. "She's not going to eat you!"

"She sure _looked_ like she would back at the river." Naruto mumbled.

"Ugh, just stop complaining about it, or I won't teach you."

Naruto silenced himself immediately.

"Good." Ebisu smirked. "Now…After seeing your movement and analyzing what Kakashi-sama has told me, I can see that you're not too good at controlling your Chakra."

Naruto blinked wide blue eyes up at him. "Chakra…control?"

Ebisu sweat dropped. '_This might take a while._' "Right. I'll try to explain it as best I can, using Sasuke and Sakura as examples."

Ebisu took a deep breath before continued. "AS you already know, to perform Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, you have to mold chakra a certain way."

"Ebisu, the boy already knows that; get to the point already!" Kendra complained.

"Hmph." The closet pervert pushed his black sunglass back up his nose. ""Fine. I'll explain in detail how you are inferior compared to your teammates."

Naruto stared sullenly at his bowl. "That's a rude way to put it."

Kendara chewed the bottom of her lip, eyes half closed and eyebrows arched high. '_Ouch. Doesn't hurt to be gentle every once in a while, does it?_'

"I'm treating you to Ramen, aren't I? So be quiet and listen. First, let's take a look at Sakura. She uses a simple clone technique. In her case, she can manipulate, mold, and control Chakra perfectly, probably better than most Chuunin. This allows her to create clones without wasting necessary chakra."

Naruto nodded.

"Now, in Sasuke-kun's case, he is not as adept as molding chakra. But he is able to control his chakra almost as well as Sakura, and wastes very little chakra." Ebisu droned on.

Naruto paused in eating his ramen and smirked. "Ha! I knew Sasuke wasn't as good as he appeared."

A tick mark appeared over Ebisu's eye. "You shouldn't be laughing! Since you are good at neither molding nor controlling you chakra…You end up creating replications with over twice that amount of chakra of both Sasuke and Sakura. You end up forcing yourself to create replications, which results in a major loss of chakra. Not only that, but you would most likely create only two to three clones."

Naruto set down what must have been his tenth ramen bowl, not saying anything as he listened to the end of Ebisu's lecture.

"As you can see, three people performing the same technique can have vast differences." Ebisu said, before turning to a depressed Naruto. "Actually….I was exaggerating in your chakra control performance. In reality, you just mold too much chakra and use of your reserves of it. It leaves you with a lack of strength."

"But there are times when I was better than both Sakura-chan _and_ Sasuke!" Naruto burst out.

"That's because you have more stamina than they do!" Ebisu said, shocking Naruto. '_It is true the Kyuubi is the source of some of his strength, but it also makes it hard for him to mold chakra correctly…_'

"Anyways, if you perform some of these exercises I have in mind, you can become stronger, and probably perfect your chakra molding skills a little more." Ebisu said.

"Really!?" The blonde brightened.

" I guarantee it." Ebisu said. "Now let's go."

"Finally!" Kendra exclaimed, jumping up from her seat.

"Ahem, your bill…" Tseuchi said.

"Oh, right- UAAHH!" Ebisu's glasses practically slid off his nose as he gaped at the amount of ramen Naruto consumed.

He turned to Kendra who looked away nervously and started inching away slowly. "I –uh, just remembered I had to do something! Later!" She made to get away, but Ebisu grabbed her arm and dragged her backwards. "Oh no you don't." He gritted.

"Thank you, come again!" Tseuchi and Ayame said, rubbing their hands together greedily.

* * *

"Ebisu-sensei, why are we at a hot spring? I don't think we've come here to relax…" Naruto said, walking ahead of the closet perv.

"HEY!" Kendra suddenly appeared in front of the jinchuuriki. "If you value your life, you won't take a step closer. From beyond here is the women's half of the onsen."

Naruto gulped and sidled backwards to Ebisu. "S-sorry…"

"Anyways…why did we come here? I wanna hurry up with my training!" Naruto said impatiently. "Do I train by relaxing in a hot spring?"

"No." Ebisu answered. "We're going to use the hot spring as a kind of motivator."

"Motivator…? Huh?" Naruto frowned in confusion.

Ebisu and Kendra led Naruto over to the railing, until the reached a part where there was a gap for no apparent reason.

"Whee!" Kendra leaped into the water, forming that hand seal for a transformation, although it wasn't anything like Naruto recognized. Moments later a monkey made out of water surfaced, somehow able to retain its form and be discerned from the water surrounding it. The monkey paddled around, humming an off-tune song to itself. Yep, definitely Kendra.

"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed. "Is that what you're going to teach me!?"

"No." Ebisu said. "That is a technique known only to Kendra-san. You're going to learn how to walk on water."

Naruto eyes widened. "Is that even possible?"

"Of course!" Ebisu said. "I know from Kakashi-sama that you have completed the tree walking exercise where you do not use your hands. This is an application of it."

"What do you mean?" Naruto tilted his head. "And I don't remember much of that tree thing, except I can do it…"

"When you climbed the tree, all you had to do was gather the necessary chakra to your feet and walk up it. Trees are solid, so it was fairly easy, water, on the other hand…not so much. In short, this is an exercise to mold the chakra on your feet so you can walk on constantly shifting surfaces." Ebisu said. "To walk on water, you must constantly adjust the chakra on your feet into the water, and then balance the amount to be able to walk on it. This type of chakra molding is harder than the tree walking exercise."

Kendra paddled up to them, still a monkey, and clambered out, putting in her say. "The exercise is designed to teach you to control your chakra better by releasing a constant amount of it. You will need to be able to do this for certain techniques."

"…I don't understand." Naruto said flatly, arms crossed.

"I guess it's better to show you then. Ebisu." Kendra looked at her teaching partner, who nodded and formed a hand seal, concentrating chakra to his feet.

"First you accumulate chakra into the soles of your feet." Ebisu picked up. "Next, you release a constant amount of chakra to balance yourself." He walked to the middle of the stream and turned to Naruto. "And, as you see, this is the result of that."

"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed. "Alright, I'll try it too!" He made the same handseal as Ebisu and focused Chakra to his feet.

He walked forward onto the water and…

_SPLASH!_

Kendra laughed, and Ebisu shook his head, smiling. "Just as I thought."

Naruto jumped out the water, yelling. "Hot, hot ,hot, HOT!" He leaped back onto the firm rock.

"Just a sidenote…" Kendra said. "The water is around 60 degrees Celsius…If you keep falling in like that, you'll become as red as a well done lobster…Mmm, lobster."

"If it's that hot, then how is Kendra able to stand it?" Naruto demanded, standing up again.

"Look at me shitling; I'm a friggin monkey made out of water. Not to mention I've had to bathe in hotter waters than this, so don't complain!" Kendra scolded. "Now, try again!"

This went on for over an hour, and Naruto really as starting to look like a lobster.

Ebisu chuckled. Naruto was persistent, and he was glad the kitsune boy had befriend Konohamaru. If it hadn't been for him the Third's grandson might have kept trying sneak attacks forever. Not to mention he was much hard working.

'_Naruto, you are probably a better teacher than I would ever hope to be…_'

An amazing even occurred, distracting Ebisu from his thoughts.

Naruto took a step into the water. His foot started to slide in, but stopped at mid-shin.

"L-look!" Naruto cried happily. "I'm doing it!"

'_Whoa….looks like he's starting to grasp how to control chakra._' Kendra watched on (still as a monkey), from atop a post.

'_I never expected…Wow._' Ebisu pushed his glass back up again. '_It seems I have misjudged you…Naruto-kun._'

Suddenly Naruto gave a cry, pointing at something before falling over into the water. "Ack!"

"Hmm?" Ebisu and Kendra looked over to see…a white haired man giggling pervertedly to himself as he spied on the women.

'_That's…_' Kendra dove into the water.

Ebisu confronted the man. "I do not know who you are…but I will not allow any shameless acts in my presence!"

Naruto clambered back out of the water to watch.

The man looked behind him. "OH geez." Performing a handseal, he summoned a frog almost as big as a horse.

It opened it's mouth and shot out it's tongue, wrapping it around Ebisu's middle. It lifted the man up high before slamming him back down.

"Don't make a ruckus." The pervert said. "I don't want to get caught."

Naruto's eyes were wide. "Whoa…He beat Ebisu-sensei?"

Kendra swam unseen in the water. '_That's to be expected of…Too bad Ebisu didn't recognize him until it was too late._'

The blond e ran up to Ebisu, but spoke to the man instead. "Hey, hey, hey! What's with the giant frog? Who are you!?"

The man struck a dramatic pose. "I am Myouboku Mountain's Monk of the Frog Mountain! I am also known as the Frog Hermit!"

There was a sudden spurt of water from behind Jiraiya, and a little water monkey dashed away.

"Ack!" Jiraiya wobbled and looked behind him. "Oh. You've gotta be kidding me!"

As he turned fully around, there was a water spot on the seat of the hermit's pants.

* * *

**And you thought you had seen the last of Kendra. XD**

**I was originally planning on making this chapter from the end of the preliminaries, all the way right before Gaara tries to kill Lee, but then I realized how long that would be. My estimate is it would have been around 25 pages…so yea.** **That would have been too long for a chapter, in my opinion, not to mention I figured you guys were impatient waiting for the next chapter.**

**Constructive Criticism and Compliments welcome. Flames and Spams will be laughed at.**

**Tropi**


	11. Two Different Chakra's

**Naruto has met Jiraiya, and is now to be trained by the Ero-Sannin. What misadventures will ensue? And what is with Kendra splashing water on Jiraiya's pants?**

**For those of you who are interested in other alternative plots, you can read another fic by me, 'The Kyuubi Wakes at the Red Dawn', one where Naruto joins the Akatsuki.**

**Disclaimer**

**The Naruto Cast does not belong to me, they belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.**

**Anything that does not belong in Naruto, belongs to me. (Kendra Taotou is MY character.)**

**Key**

"Word**" Talking**

'_Thought_**' Thinking**

'_**Snake**_**' Orochimaru speaking mentally**

* * *

Naruto did the first thing that came to mind when he saw the wet spot. He pointed…and laughed loudly.

Jiraiya grimaced and quickly turned around to look the kid in the eye. "Do you know who you're laughing at!?" He demanded.

"Yea, you just said." Naruto said, finally over his bought of laughter. "But I think I like Ero Sennin better."

"Ero…Sennin?" Jiraiya twitched in annoyance. This kid was starting to tick him off, and if he _ever_ found that monkey…

Naruto glanced back at Ebisu. "But hey, hey! Look what you did! He was supposed to be training me, and look what you did! You knocked him out!"

"He was interfering with my research." Jiraiya defended.

Naruto raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Research…?" '_I highly doubt that._'

"Yes." Jiraiya said. "I am a writer." He pulled out a book from an inside pocket of his vest/shirt thing. IT was a very familiar orange book…

Naruto blinked and read the title. "Come Come Paradise: Volume Two…EH!? Those are…those are…that's the series Kakashi-sensei is always reading!"

"Oh, you've heard of my series?" Jiraiya seemed generally pleased. "IT looks like my series has become quite popular…Kukukuku…"

"It's a naughty book, isn't it?" Naruto now seemed to be disgusted. "I can't _believe_ Kakashi-sensei reads something like _that_!" His voice started to go higher.

Meanwhile Kendra entered the Hot Springs and started whispering into several of the women's ears. Although she didn't need to do much, with how loud Naruto's voice was starting to get.

"And what do you _mean_ research!? You're just peeking through a gap into the women's bath!" Naruto was now shouting.

There was screaming, the pattering of feet, and a few buckets and hairbrushes thrown over the wall, one hitting Jiraiya on the head. "A-ah…Damn it! They found out I was peeking!"

"Stupid pervert." Naruto grumbled. "That's what you deserve."

"Baka!" Jiraiya marched up to the blonde. "I am no ordinary pervert! I am a _super_ pervert! I get inspiration to write novels by peeking!"

'_Like hell you do._' Kendra thought, clambering up to the top of the wall.

"Liar." Naruto said. "Stop with the excuses. Anyways…what are you going to do about my training!?"

"You mean the water-walking exercise?" Jiraiya asked, calming down somewhat.

"You know of it? Then cooperate and help me out then!" The blonde demanded.

"Hmph." Jiraiya walked past him. "I don't care about your training."

"Hey! Wait up, Ero-Sennin!" Naruto ran after him. "Help me with my training, damn it!"

"Shut up!" Jiraiya wheeled around. "I don't like people who don't know the proper way to ask for a favor. And no, I don't research men."

Naruto made a face. "Eww…Um, ah, wait…" He racked his brain for an excuse. "Um, Come Come Paradise was really exciting, cool and entertaining…" It was obvious he was lying through his teeth.

Kendra was not sure whether to be amused or annoyed.

"People under 18 aren't allowed to buy or read that novel. Don't lie." Jiraiya said.

"Uh…That's what I heard!"

"Don't try and flatter me!" Jiraiya growled. "I'm a hermit! I'm not foolish enough to be deceived by someone like you!" He formed a hand seal, and wind started to be whipped around the white-haired man, almost like a mini tornado.

"Wait!" Naruto tried to catch him, but was blown back by the fierce winds.

"Hahaha! Later, kid!" Jiraiya leaped away, almost like a frog. The winds quickly died down once he was gone.

Instead of being deterred, Naruto was more revved up than ever. "That was incredible! He may be a perv, but he's cool!" He ran off in the direction of where the Toad Hermit had gone off to.

Kendra sighed. '_Oh great, I get to chase a shitling and a pervert around. Fun fun._'

* * *

"Hey! Ero Sennin!" Naruto ran through the Konoha streets, in search of Jiraiya. "Where could he have gone…?"

Suddenly there was a scream coming from a Rice Cake and Sweets shop. Naruto's head swiveled in the direction, and heard the distinct sound of being slapped.

"What do you think you're doing, you perverted old man!?" An angry feminine voice demanded. A young lady, followed by Jiraiya, walked out of the shop.

"I'm sorry!" Jiraiya apologized, "It's just that you have a nice set of breasts."

The woman whipped around and slapped his other check, leaving a red mark in the shape of a handprint. Not bothering to stick around, she quickly left.

Naruto had a disgusted expression on his face. "How pathetic…for a grown man to be doing something like that. Maybe he's not as great as I thought…But there's no one else…" Reluctantly, he walked forward and confronted the Sannin, who currently had his back turned to him.

"The woman here are as perky as ever…" Jiraiya mumbled, not aware of the approaching boy. "But I like that…"

"Still?" Naruto questioned. "You mean you've been here before?" Jiraiya turned around, surprised. "You actually followed me?"

"You must be peeking all the time!" Naruto accused. There were several onlookers now. "You perverted hermit!"

"Shh!" Jiraiya hissed. "Stop calling me a pervert so loudly!"

"Shut up!" Naruto growled. "I get it now! You only beat the closet perv because of a fluke! Anyways, I'm holding you responsible for my training!"

"What a noisy kid!" In a swift movement, Jiraiya shoved Naruto into a large jar, before placing the lid back on and a heavy rock. "Stay quiet in there for a while!"

"Let me out!" Naruto shouted, but the jar was so thick it only came out as a roar to anyone who was paying attention.

Jiraiya walked off, laughing to himself, leaving behind a confused crowd.

Kendra sighed and leaped down, releasing her jutsu so she was human again. Naruto had gone silent, most likely he was pouting.

Without hesitation, Kendra removed both rock and lid. Naruto looked up. "Kendra-san…"

"Get out." Kendra demanded. Naruto did not hesitate in doing so, seeing as how Kendra could do some pretty nasty things if not obeyed.

"Umm…thanks." Naruto shuffled his feet nervously.

"Damn straight." She huffed. "You forgot all about me, didn't you? Not like I care, I never really wanted to train you in the first place. But listen, I have something to tell you."

She leaned in and started whispering in Naruto's ear. His eyes widened and his face split into a grin, nodding eagerly.

* * *

Jiraiya sighed, leaning against a fallen tree and smoking his pipe, not unlike the third Hokage. "I wish I could encounter a sexy babe that would set my heart aflame.." he muttered to himself.

"Oh Jiraiya…" cooed a female voice. Said pervert perked up immediately. "Yes? Who's there?"

The bushes rustled, and out stepped a hot, _naked_, blonde, her hair in pigtails.

Jiraiya's jaw hit the ground. "W-wow!" Blood trickled down from his nose. "What's you're name?" He asked, ogling.

She smirked. "My name…My name is Naruto."

Jiraiya paused. '_Wait a minute…_' "You mean...you're that kid from earlier? You should have just said you were really a sexy girl!"

"Ah…" Naruto put a finger to her lips, giving her a chibi like look. "I'm actually a guy. This is just a jutsu I created…"

"Really…" Jiraiya slowly started to approach Naruto, who backed up a bit. "What's it called?"

"Oiroke no Jutsu…" Naruto answered. "So…will you train me now?" She still had not changed back.

"Hmmm…On two conditions." Jiraiya said, reaching forth a groping hand. Naruto pressed herself flat against the bark of the tree, looking a bit cornered now. "Conditions?"

"Yes…" Jiraiya was almost within groping distance, and Naruto was sweating kunais. (1) "You must remain like that in my presence, AND, you must let me grope you, just this once…"

A tick mark appeared over Naruto's forehead. '_Good god!_'

_SPAT!_

Just as Jiraiya's hand was about to brush skin, he gave a yelp and sharply withdrew, whipping around to see a water monkey sitting on the log he had previously been leaning against, pointing and saying something unintelligible. There was now another wet spot on the seat of Jiraiya's pants.

Naruto sighed, relieved, and changed back.

Jiraiya lunged for Kendra, who leaped out of the way and ran off to who knows where. He growled, and stood back up. He glanced back expecting the cute blonde girl, but only saw a peeved Naruto.

"Pervert!" Naruto accused, pointing a finger at him. "I'm not going to do that!"

Jiraiya groaned. "Fine, fine…but you have to at least let me do research on that jutsu at least twice a day."

"But-"

"Take it or leave it, kid! That's my final offer!"

Naruto sighed. "Fine…"

A perverted grin came over Jiraiya's face. "Good, good…come on, let's go. I know a perfect place to train."

Grudgingly, Naruto followed after him.

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya sat on the rocky bank of a river. "Okay Naruto, I want you to resume your training on the water-walking, so I can see where you're at."

"Right!" Naruto got up and walked over to the water. He paused for a moment and focused chakra to his feet before taking a step onto the water. He took a few unsteady steps before his right foot sank into the water, and he lost his balance. "Ack!" There was a splash as Naruto fell backwards.

"Hmmm…" Jiraiya frowned. '_Something's off…_' All the while, he still erupted into laughter. Naruto surfaced and clambered back onto the shore, now sopping wet.

"You can't do it all!" Jiraiya criticized. "Shut up!" Came the angry reply.

Naruto removed his pants, vest, and shoes. "I should have remembered to take them off before…Now they're all wet…"

"Hey, try molding some chakra again." Jiraiya said.

"Again, why?"

"Just do it!"

Naruto sighed and once again started to mold chakra.

Jiraiya stared, and had to resist asking Naruto how he stayed so thin. Eventually a seal showed up on the blonde's stomach, just what Jiraiya had been looking for. He leaned forward and inspected it.

'_So this is the seal used to contain the Kyuubi…It consists of two Four Season seals , and an Eight Astronomical seal…It's set up so that the Kyuubi's chakra can leak out of the Four Season seals, and then be converted into chakra Naruto can use…The Foruth Hokage must have done it to protect him…_'

A smile lit up Jiraiya's face, but it turned into a frown. '_However, there's the matter of the _other _seal...the one Orochimaru gave him. Poor kid…_'

Jiraiya looked over the Orochimaru's curse mark. '_Just as I remember…Orochimaru, what is it your planning?_'

Jiraiya lightly tapped the curse mark, forming a hand seal. '_This is what's been giving him trouble molding chakra…This should take care of that, however._'

Muttering under his breath, his chakra flared, and Naruto gave a sudden cry, hand slipping over the curse mark. However, Jiraiya was already finished and stepped back, admiring his work. '_There…that should do it._'

"What the hell did you do, Ero Sennin!?" Naruto demanded, looking his senior in the eye.

"Just investigating something." Jiraiya said dismissively. "Try walking on water again."

Glowering, Naruto walked back up to the water and refocused his chakra. When he stepped on the water, he almost instantly lost his balance, but when he took another step, he found himself standing steadily on the water.

Naruto grinned and started jumping up and down, landing on top of the water perfectly without falling in. "Look at me! I'm walking on water! Yeah, I'm amazing!"

Jiraiya watched him. '_I suppose it's time to teach him how to control the Kyuubi's chakra now…_' "Okay kid, come back over here! I have more to teach you!"

Naruto ran over to him.

Jiraiya made a motion for the boy to sit, doing the same. Once Naruto, did, Jiraiya launched into an explanation.

"Before I teach you this move, there is something you must understand. You may or may have not noticed it, but you have two different kinds of chakra."

Naruto frowned, remember Haku and the strange red chakra that he had used for a brief amount of time. "What do you mean?"

"It's a special kind of chakra." Jiraiya hinted.

"Oh…you don't happen to mean the Kyuubi's chakra?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "That's it. Try and describe it."

"Well…" Naruto thought for a moment. "Mine is blue, and it feels relatively pleasant, but the other's is red, and it reminds me of all the bad things in the world."

"I see. Alright then." Jiraiya stood up. "It's getting late. Let's end training here today." He started to walk back down the path.

"What!?" Naruto chased after him. "But what about the move you were going to teach me? I can still go on!"

"Don't get hasty." Jiraiya said. "Come on, let's go relax at a hot spring."

* * *

The two were now relaxing at a hidden onsen, located near the river, but not too far off.

"Hey, hey…" Naruto asked. "What kind of move are you going to teach me?"

"You'll find out tomorrow." Jiraiya said.

"Awww!"

The frog Jiraiya had summoned earlier surfaced, obviously having been summoned again. There was a small water monkey on top.

"He's going to become a boiled frog if he stays in here too long…" Jiraiya muttered to himself, as they watched the frog spurt water into the air, accompanied by a small fountain of water, compliment of Kendra.

* * *

Jiraiya looked up from watching Naruto sleep to see Ebisu approaching him. AT first they said nothing, but eventually Jiraiya broke the silence.

"Sorry about earlier, Ebisu." Jiraiya apologized. "And about stealing one of your students."

"Don't worry about it." Ebisu said. "But I am surprised to see you here. Hokage-sama has been looking for you for quite some time, but couldn't pinpoint your exact location. And now you're in the village…Hokage-sama will be quite pleased."

"Have you told the Third about my presence here, yet?" Jiraiya asked.

"No, not yet."

"I see. Let's leave it that way." Jiraiya said. "Hear that Kendra?"

Kendra appeared on Jiraiya's other side, human. "Yes."

"But why?" Ebisu asked. "Is it because of Orochimaru?"

"Not necessarily." Jiraiya answered. "I actually visited this place to get ideas for my next novel. I don't like to get into messes like this."

"What are you talking about?" Ebisu asked. "You should already know! To stop Orochimaru, one of your fellow Sannin, we need you or Tsunadae!"

Jiraiya glanced at the black-glasses man, but did not respond.

Ebisu sighed and started to walk away, but paused to comment to the older man, "I have faith in you, Jiraiya-sama…"

* * *

Gaara sat on top of a sandstone fish, a blank expression on his face. He looked down however, to watch as Dosu approached him, sleeves flapping in the wind.

Dosu paused to look up at Gaara. "This is unexpected…Do you not sleep?"

"What do you want?" Gaara demanded.

"I was thinking of defeating you right here, right now." Dosu answered. "That way, I would have a better chance of fighting against Naruto-kun." He continued on. "I know of your sand attacks. So…what do you think is faster…my sound, or your sand?" He pulled back his sleeve, revealing the metal sound amplifier on his right arm.

It took a long time for Gaara to respond, but when he did... "When there is a full moon…When there is a full moon, _he_ gets excited."

A large arm of sand erupted from the gourd on Gaara's back, hovering over Dosu. "What are you!?" The sound ninja demanded, now terrified.

He would never hear the answer, being killed moments later.

Gaara panted, a maniacal grin on his face.

* * *

"That was incredible…" Kabuto said, standing next to Baki. They had been observing Gaara from afar. "Was that his true self?"

Baki ignored this, asking a question of his own. "Was that okay? He was Sound…"

"It's fine." Kabuto said. "We have no use for him anymore."

"Wasn't he a guinea pig to see how strong Naruto kid was?" Baki continued.

Hayate pressed himself against the pillar, eavesdropping. '_Why is Kabuto talking with Sand…unless…_'

"No, there's no need for that anymore." The grey haired ninja answered. "I was ordered to take Naruto-kun, but I too, failed…"

'_Eh?_' Hayate frowned.

"They know I am a spy from Sound…"

"If someone finds out that you're secretly meeting me here, and they find out about the plan…the plan to destroy Konoha will be ruined!"

Hayate's eyes widened.

"I heard that you're Orochimaru's right hand man, yet you still came to see me like this, after they've seen you're face. You are quite the fool."

"Well…" Kabuto said. "More accurately they didn't find out…I showed them. I wanted to see what Konoha would do…It's not too late to take Naruto-kun, even after seeing Konoha's reaction."

"If it looks like your plan will fail…" Baki said, "then Suna will withdraw their forces immediately. This plan was brought to us by Sound…we will not come out into the open until the last moment. That is Kazekage-sama's will."

"That's fine." Kabuto held out a scroll. "This is the scroll with the Sound's plan. Also, please tell those three about the plan soon."

"Yes, I know."

"I will be going now."

'_Our ally, Suna, is connected with Sound, and are planning an attack? I must inform Hokage-sama of this._'

"Oh, and one more thing." Kabuto paused. "I will clean up the mess."

Hayate froze. They knew he was there! '_Shit!_'

"No." Baki said. "I'll do it. As a shinobi from Suna, I must lend my aide to a comrade. Besides…there is only one mouse. It'll be easy…"

Hayate made to flee, but Baki chased after him finally cornering him about half a mile away, on top of the globe-like roof of a building.

"I see…" Baki said. "It's that examiner from before. What are you doing out here alone?"

"Looks like we have to fight…" Hayate withdrew his sword and charged forward. "Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

He disappeared, and Baki looked up, seeing Hayate come down, his sword obviously pointed in a way that would kill the Suna shinobi if he did not do something.

The sword started to cut through, but then stopped. Baki's vest was not mere fabric, it was incredibly hard. Hayate struggled to remove it, but found himself unable.

"You're technique is impressive, not to mention you can use that move at such a young age…" Baki grasped the blade firmly. "IT is natural for a blade of material to be stopped, however…A blade of wind, cannot be stopped by anyone." Wind whipped around Baki's free hand.

And a scream ran throughout the night.

* * *

**And there is chapter eleven! Next up, we have a little chat with Kyuubi, and after that is the hospital scene! You know what I'm talking about! ;)**

**(1) The correct term is 'sweatng bullets' but since guns don't exactly exists in teh Naruto world, I changed the term to 'sweating kunai's.' **

**Constructive Criticism and Compliments welcome. Flames and Spams will be laughed at.**

**Tropi**


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